Mass General Brigham Health Plan removed Dana-Farber Cancer Institute from its Medicare Advantage network on October 1, 2026. Patients in active cancer treatment at Dana-Farber now sit inside a short transition window, and the plan’s own coverage year is about to turn over. Medicare’s fall enrollment period is the only regular chance to pick a plan that includes the hospital for 2027.
The question for a Mass General Brigham Medicare Advantage member in treatment at Dana-Farber is simple to state and hard to answer. Care continues for 90 days, but coverage for Jan. 1 has to be chosen by Dec. 7. Which plan keeps the oncology team in network, and what happens if the choice is left alone?
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What the plan and the hospital have announced
The plan’s August 2026 broker bulletin says that, effective October 1, 2026, its Medicare Advantage provider network no longer includes Dana-Farber. The plan attributes the change to the challenging environment affecting Medicare Advantage plans nationwide. Dana-Farber stays in the plan’s commercial network, so employer and individual commercial members are not affected.
Dana-Farber’s patient insurance page carries the same date. It says that effective October 1, 2026, Dana-Farber is no longer in network for the Mass General Brigham Medicare Advantage plan, and it lists a financial counseling line at 617-582-9820 for patients with questions about their coverage.
The network break is one-sided for Medicare Advantage only. Original Medicare, which pays hospitals directly, was never part of the contract dispute, and other Medicare Advantage plans negotiate their own hospital contracts separately.
What the 90 days of continuity care cover
CBS News Boston reported that affected patients can keep receiving their current care for 90 days, and that coverage may run longer for patients in a clinical trial or in the middle of radiation or chemotherapy. The same report put the number of affected patients at about 1,000. The plan has described the window as 90 days after October 1, or through the end of a treatment plan, whichever applies.
Ninety days from October 1 lands at the end of the calendar year. After that, anyone who wants to stay at Dana-Farber needs a plan that includes the hospital. The continuity period is a bridge for care already underway, not a promise about coverage in 2027.
The Dec. 7 deadline and what happens after it
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Medicare.gov says that during this period people can join, drop or switch Medicare Advantage plans, switch between Original Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan, and add or drop drug coverage. Coverage starts January 1, and the new plan must receive the request by December 7.
People already in a Medicare Advantage plan get a second window from Jan. 1 through Mar. 31. That period allows a switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or a return to Original Medicare, but the change starts the first of the month after the plan receives the request. For someone whose continuity coverage ends around January 1, that gap can leave weeks without Dana-Farber in network.
Staying put is the riskiest option. A member who takes no action remains in a plan that no longer includes the hospital, and the 90-day bridge runs out in the middle of a course of treatment.
Checking whether a 2027 plan includes Dana-Farber
Medicare’s Plan Finder lets a person enter drugs, pharmacies and plan type and compare 2027 options by cost. Provider networks change from year to year, so a hospital listed in a plan’s 2026 directory is not guaranteed in 2027. The plan’s own provider search, and a phone call to the plan and to Dana-Farber’s financial counselors, are the reliable way to confirm that the oncologist, the infusion center and the radiation unit are all in network.
Original Medicare is the other route. It generally lets patients see any provider that accepts Medicare, which can keep a cancer team in place. It does not cap out-of-pocket costs on its own, so a Medigap supplement or other secondary coverage matters. A hospital leaving a Medicare Advantage network does not automatically give someone the right to buy a Medigap policy without medical underwriting, and it is worth asking before leaving the plan whether that right applies. The number to call is 1-800-MEDICARE.
Massachusetts residents can also get free one-on-one help from the state’s SHINE program, whose counselors help people explore Medicare plan options and find ways to save on health insurance and drug costs.
Which plan keeps Dana-Farber in network after the 90 days end?
A Mass General Brigham member in treatment at Dana-Farber has 90 days of continuity care and a Dec. 7 deadline to choose coverage that starts Jan. 1. Choosing on a premium alone, or letting the plan renew by default, can leave an oncology team out of network in the middle of treatment.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, a prescription-by-plan comparison, a provider call script and the Open Enrollment calendar. The Part 6 phone scripts and call log are built for exactly the calls to a plan and a hospital that confirm a doctor is in network.
Compare plans on cost, drugs and doctors with the Open Enrollment decision kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
