Aetna, the insurer owned by CVS Health, says it will sell Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage in 41 states and Washington, D.C., for 2027. That is two fewer states than the 43 states and the District it covers this year. People on an Aetna plan in a state that drops off the list will need a new plan for 2027.
The 2027 figure comes from Aetna’s October 8, 2026 announcement of its next-year Medicare plans. A year earlier, the company’s October 1, 2025 release put the 2026 footprint at 43 states plus Washington, D.C.
What Aetna has said about the two missing states
Aetna’s 2027 announcement does not say which two states are leaving the list. It also gives no count of members affected and no list of counties. The company describes the plans it will offer, not the ones it is ending.
The 2026 announcement said Aetna had 2.1 million existing General Enrollment Medicare Advantage drug plan members at the time. The company has not said how many of them live in the states missing from the 2027 list, so the state count is the only change it has put on paper. People in Aetna plans who want to know where they stand have to look at their own county’s plan list.
Jeff Fernandez, president of Aetna Medicare, is the executive quoted in the 2027 announcement. He said the right Medicare coverage protects a person’s health and peace of mind, but the release does not say whether any plan is ending in any particular place.
The people with the clearest task are those who live in a state that is not on the 2027 list, because their plan may not come back. Even so, the other 41 states and the District of Columbia can still see changes in premiums, drug lists, copays and doctor networks, so every Aetna member has something to look over this fall.
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Medicare Advantage plans are sold by county, and an insurer can change its map from one year to the next. Aetna says its plans are open to 57 million Medicare-eligible people, the same reach figure it gave for 2026. Whether one particular plan returns is decided plan by plan, not by the state count alone.
The dates that decide a switch
Aetna lists the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period as October 15 through December 7, 2026. That is the window when people can shop for and enroll in a different plan for 2027. A plan chosen in that window is the one that carries them into the new year.
People whose plan is not being offered next year get extra room. KFF, the health policy research group, explains that after a non-renewal notice the window to pick a new plan or move to traditional Medicare runs from October 15 through the last day of February.
The same KFF page says a person who does nothing is enrolled by default in traditional Medicare. Without Extra Help, that person will also need a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan unless drug coverage comes from another source, such as the VA or a former employer or union.
Drug coverage and Medigap rights if a plan leaves
Aetna says it will keep offering its stand-alone SilverScript prescription drug plan for 2027, a point the company made in the same October 8 announcement. That matters for people who move to traditional Medicare, because the drug plan is a separate purchase. The release does not give a state count for that plan.
KFF also notes that when a plan leaves Medicare or stops being offered in an area, a person may have a guaranteed issue right to buy a Medicare supplement policy, known as Medigap, without medical underwriting. That right has its own deadline, so the dates in the plan’s letter matter.
Anyone with questions about Aetna’s own plans can call the number in the company’s release, 1-844-588-0041 (TTY 711), which Aetna says is staffed seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aetna also says 97 percent of its Medicare Advantage drug plans carry a $0 copay for primary care visits in 2027, and 70 percent carry a $0 copay for lab work. Those are the company’s own figures for its plans, so a person’s actual copays still depend on the specific plan and county.
Where to compare 2027 plans
Medicare’s own Plan Finder is the free place to see which plans are sold in a ZIP code. It is the tool to use to confirm that a current plan, or a replacement, is actually offered in a given county for 2027.
Quality is one of the things worth comparing. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2027 Star Ratings fact sheet, released October 8, 2026, says about 71 percent of people in Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage are in contracts that will have four or more stars in 2027. Four contracts carry the low-performing icon.
The next step is a short one. Look up the plan in the Plan Finder, check the 2027 drug list against the medicines taken now, and confirm each doctor is still in the network. With the enrollment period running to December 7, there is time to compare, but not much.
Is the Aetna plan still the right one for 2027 by December 7?
A smaller Aetna map means some members will be told to find a new plan, and everyone else gets a new set of premiums, drug lists and networks to read. Anyone who lets December 7 pass without comparing can end up with a plan that no longer covers a medicine or a doctor.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit compares a current plan against others on cost, drugs and doctors with a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, and it includes the Open Enrollment calendar so the dates are in one place. It also has a prescription-by-plan comparison and a provider call script for checking a doctor before switching.
Get the 2027 plan cost calculator and Open Enrollment calendar for comparing Aetna and its rivals →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
