Medicare Advantage plans are being cut across Maine for 2027, and one insurer accounts for most of it. Martin’s Point Health Care has 41,528 plan terminations in the state, about 63 percent of its plans, according to an October edition of the Medicare Market Insights newsletter. The Maine Bureau of Insurance counts 49,297 Medicare Advantage cancellations statewide.
The Bureau gave that statewide number to the Portland Press Herald, which reported it on October 20. Martin’s Point alone is more than four in five of those cancellations. Open enrollment, the time to pick new coverage, runs through December 7.
For a Maine member holding a Martin’s Point plan, the practical question is whether the replacement the company has offered fits that person’s own prescriptions and doctors, or whether another plan or Original Medicare fits better. Medicare’s Plan Finder shows every 2027 option by county, and the choice has to be made by December 7.
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How large is the Maine loss?
Maine has about 199,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees this year, according to the state insurance bureau, so the 49,297 cancellations equal roughly one in four of them. A year earlier, about 40,000 plans were canceled in Maine for 2026, which means the 2027 total is about 9,000 higher.
Martin’s Point sits near the top of the national list too. The Press Herald notes its 63 percent termination rate is the 14th-highest percentage in the country. In the national tally from Medicare Market Insights, Martin’s Point shows 41,528 terminations against 63 percent of its book.
UnitedHealth Group and Centene Corporation also have plans being discontinued in Maine, the newspaper reports, though it gives no counts for either company.
What does Martin’s Point say?
Steve Amendo, a spokesperson for Martin’s Point, told the Press Herald that “we have introduced new plans in their place, and are communicating directly with impacted members.” He added, “We recognize that changes to health plan coverage can raise questions for members.” Members who need help can contact Martin’s Point through martinspoint.org.
Replacement plans are not the same as the old ones. Mitchell Stein, a Maine-based health policy consultant, said insurers “have cut back on benefits to bring their services more in line with traditional Medicare.” He attributes the cutbacks to Biden-era changes aimed at curbing Medicare Advantage overpayments, and expects remaining plans to offer fewer benefits or charge more out of pocket.
Shoshana Hoose, a 72-year-old Portland retiree whose plan is affected, put the uncertainty plainly: “Exactly how this is going to play out for me I have no idea.”
What can Maine members do before December 7?
The Medicare.gov page on the Open Enrollment Period lists October 15 through December 7. In that window a person can join, drop or switch Medicare Advantage plans, with or without drug coverage, or switch from a Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare. Coverage generally starts January 1, and the plan must have the request by December 7. A member who moves to Original Medicare can also join, drop or switch a stand-alone Medicare drug plan in the same window. The page adds that a Special Enrollment Period, available in certain life situations such as losing or changing coverage, starts coverage the first of the month after the plan gets the request to join.
Nationally, Medicare Market Insights counts 3,156,598 members in terminated plans for 2027, about 10.6 percent of the individual market. Maine’s 49,297 is a small slice of that, but at roughly a quarter of its enrollees it is a heavy one. The open question for a Martin’s Point member is what the new plan costs for the drugs and doctors already in use, since the insurer stays in the state and still has to be compared against its competitors.
Is the new Martin’s Point plan the right replacement?
A Maine member who accepts the replacement plan without comparing it may find a different drug list, a different doctor network or higher costs in January, with the December 7 request deadline already past. Martin’s Point says it is writing to affected members, but a letter describes one plan, not the alternatives.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit sets the options side by side. It includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, a prescription-by-plan comparison and a provider call script to use when asking whether a doctor is in network for 2027.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
