Is Your Medicare Advantage Plan Ending in 2027? What North Carolina Members Need to Do Before Dec. 7

If an envelope from your Medicare Advantage plan showed up in early October saying your plan “won’t be offered” next year, take a breath. You are not losing Medicare. But you do have a decision to make, and the clock is already running.

This year, a lot of North Carolinians are getting that letter. When we compared CMS’s official 2026 and 2027 plan lists, every one of North Carolina’s 100 counties has at least one Medicare Advantage plan that isn’t coming back for 2027. Dozens of plans are affected statewide, including plans from UnitedHealthcare, Humana and HealthSpring.

Here’s what that letter means, what happens if you ignore it, and the steps to take before the Annual Enrollment Period ends on Dec. 7.

What’s changing in North Carolina for 2027

Medicare Advantage plans are approved county by county, so a plan can stay in Wake County and leave Johnston, or the other way around. A few examples from CMS’s 2027 plan data:

• UnitedHealthcare. The company says it is shrinking some service areas and discontinuing some plans as of Jan. 1, 2027. AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC NC-23 (PPO) is not returning for 2027. AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC NC-0008 (HMO-POS) is being consolidated into AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC NC-24 (HMO-POS). If you have NC-0008, check your notice for the replacement plan and compare its doctors, drugs and costs.
• Humana. HumanaChoice H5525-050 (PPO) and HumanaChoice H5525-083 (PPO), each offered in more than 90 North Carolina counties in 2026, are not offered here in 2027.
• HealthSpring. Two plans from HealthSpring (the former Cigna HealthSpring, now owned by Health Care Service Corporation) leave North Carolina entirely: HealthSpring Preferred Plus (HMO) and HealthSpring Preferred Select (HMO). Several other HealthSpring plans are pulling out of certain counties.

One caution: A plan disappearing from the list doesn’t always mean its members are on their own. Sometimes a company merges or renumbers a plan and moves its members into a different one. The letter you got from your plan is what tells you which situation you’re in.

Non-renewal letter vs. ANOC: which one did you get?

These two letters look alike, but they mean very different things.

• Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Every plan that’s continuing sends one in September. It lists next year’s changes to premiums, copays, drugs and networks. If you do nothing, you stay in the plan for 2027 with those changes. (We covered how to read one in our ANOC guide.)
• Non-renewal (termination) notice. This says your plan won’t be offered in your county next year. These go out in early October. UnitedHealthcare, for example, dated its letters Oct. 2, 2026. If you do nothing, nobody moves you into a new plan.
• Plan “replaced” or consolidated. Some ANOCs say your plan is being combined with another plan from the same company. In that case you’re moved automatically, but the new plan can have different doctors, drugs and costs, so look it over just as closely.

Myth: “If my plan ends, Medicare will just put me in a new one.”

If your Medicare Advantage plan ends and you aren’t moved into a replacement or enrolled in another Medicare Advantage plan, you generally return to Original Medicare on Jan. 1, 2027. That means:

• Drug coverage may end too. If your ending plan includes Part D, that drug coverage ends with it. Arrange replacement Part D coverage unless you have other creditable drug coverage.
• No cap on medical costs. Original Medicare has no yearly out-of-pocket maximum for Part A and Part B services. A Medigap policy can help pay covered cost sharing, depending on the policy.
• No extras. Dental, vision, hearing and other extras go away with the plan.

And there’s a long-term cost. If you go 63 days or more in a row without creditable drug coverage, you may owe a Part D late enrollment penalty when you do sign up, and it’s generally added to your premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage.

Your deadlines

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026: This is Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period. If you choose a new plan by Dec. 7, it starts Jan. 1, 2027, with no gap.
• Dec. 8, 2026 – Feb. 28, 2027: Medicare gives people whose plan isn’t renewed a Special Enrollment Period from Dec. 8 through the last day of February.

Myth: “I have until February, so there’s no rush.” Here’s the catch. A plan you join after Dec. 31 starts on the first day of the following month. Enroll on Jan. 20 and your new coverage starts Feb. 1, which means you could spend January on Original Medicare without Part D unless you have other creditable drug coverage. The February deadline is a safety net. Don’t treat it as your plan.

Thinking about a Medicare Supplement? You may have a one-time opening

Normally, once your first Medigap open enrollment window has passed, federal law doesn’t make an insurance company sell you a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy. In most cases, the company can ask health questions and turn you down.

When your Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare or stops giving care in your area, federal law gives you a “guaranteed issue” right. While it lasts, a Medigap insurer must sell you a policy, must cover your pre-existing conditions, and can’t charge you more because of your health. The fine print, according to Medicare:

• You have to go to Original Medicare. The right applies only if you switch to Original Medicare, not if you join another Medicare Advantage plan.
• Which plans. Medigap Plan A, B, D or G sold in North Carolina. Plans C and F are available only if you were eligible for Medicare before Jan. 1, 2020.
• When. You can apply as early as 60 days before your Medicare Advantage coverage ends and no later than 63 days after it ends. For a plan ending Dec. 31, 2026, that’s roughly Nov. 1, 2026 through March 4, 2027. Check the dates in your own letter.
• Timing and proof. A Medigap policy can’t start until your Medicare Advantage coverage ends. Keep your non-renewal letter, because the insurer may ask for it as proof.

If you go this route, add a stand-alone Part D plan too unless you have other creditable drug coverage. For 2027, the standard Part D deductible can be no more than $700, and once your out-of-pocket drug costs reach $2,400, you pay $0 for covered drugs for the rest of the year.

Why it matters: This matters because it may be the easiest chance you get to move to a Medigap policy without answering health questions. If you pick another Medicare Advantage plan now and want Medigap later, you could have to pass underwriting.

Steps to take before Dec. 7

1. Find the letter and read the first page. Is it an ANOC, a non-renewal notice, or a “your plan is being replaced” notice? Write down the plan name and ID number.
2. Make your list. List your doctors, specialists and hospitals, plus every prescription with the dose and your pharmacy.
3. See what’s available in your county for 2027. Plans differ by county, and your neighbor one county over may have different choices.
4. Pick a direction. Your choices are another Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare with a Part D plan and possibly a Medigap policy. Compare total costs, not just premiums.
5. Enroll by Dec. 7. This gives you seamless coverage on Jan. 1.
6. Confirm it went through. Look for a confirmation letter and a new ID card. Keep your non-renewal letter.

Let’s review it together, free

At Medicare Experts, we’re an independent, licensed Medicare agency based in Apex. We work with multiple carriers, so we can compare your 2027 options side by side, check your doctors and drugs, and tell you plainly whether a Medicare Advantage plan or a Medigap-plus-Part-D setup makes more sense for you. There’s no cost for the review and no pressure.

Call 919-390-1880 or 704-940-1676, or toll-free 888-985-0014.

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