Humana is cutting Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, and the insurer’s own estimate is that the exits will reach approximately 600,000 members. Chief Financial Officer Celeste Mellet gave the number on the company’s second-quarter earnings call on July 29. Members who get an exit notice have until December 7 to pick new coverage that starts in January, and a second window opens December 8.
What did Humana say about the 600,000 members?
Mellet told analysts on the call, according to Humana’s transcript, “we anticipate these plan exits will impact approximately 600,000 members.” She said Humana would work to recapture a significant portion of that volume, as it did in 2025, and put that year’s retention at just over 40%.
The figure is Humana’s own estimate, and Mellet said final results depend on membership size and mix. The insurer has not publicly named the counties or plans affected, Healthcare Finance News reported, so members learn about their own plan from the notice they receive.
Which Humana plans are leaving?
Mellet said the majority of the exits were in plans with star ratings of 3.5 or lower for 2027. She also said she “wouldn’t really think about this as a Stars item,” describing instead a cut to “the lower tail of profitability and returns” while using exits to prioritize higher-performing plans, including those with more value-based care.
Under federal timing rules, Medicare Advantage nonrenewal notices for contracts ending December 31 were to be dated October 2. Anyone in a Humana Medicare Advantage plan who has a letter saying the plan will not be offered in 2027 is in the group Mellet described, and that member now has to choose between another Medicare Advantage plan and Original Medicare during open enrollment, which Medicare.gov lists as running now to December 7.
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What happens on December 8?
Medicare.gov says people whose plan’s contract is not renewed get a special enrollment period from December 8 to the last day of February. Anyone who does not join another Medicare Advantage plan before the old one ends is enrolled in Original Medicare, according to the same Medicare.gov page.
That gives a member two chances: pick by December 7 and be set for January 1, or use the late-winter window that runs from December 8 through February 28. The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare lists the 2027 plans offered in a ZIP code and lets members check their drugs and pharmacies against each one.
Can members who leave Medicare Advantage still buy Medigap?
Healthcare Finance News reported that the Medigap guaranteed-issue period runs until 63 days after Medicare Advantage coverage ends. During guaranteed issue, a Medigap insurer cannot turn down a person returning to Original Medicare because of health problems, which makes that stretch worth marking on a calendar for anyone leaning toward a supplement.
Is Humana the only insurer pulling back?
No. Dana Erickson, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, wrote in an October 2026 message to members that nearly 5 million seniors nationwide have had their Medicare Advantage plan discontinued over the past two years. Blue Cross is ending most of its own Medicare Advantage plans on December 31.
Blue Cross says plan availability varies by county, which is one reason a national estimate such as 600,000 says little about any one household until the notice arrives.
Humana has not said which counties are affected, and Mellet expects to keep a share of the exiting members similar to 2025, just over 40%. For everyone else on the list, the first date that matters is December 7.
Need a new plan before December 7?
A Humana letter saying the plan will not be offered in 2027 starts two clocks: December 7 for a plan that begins January 1, then the December 8 to February 28 window. A replacement that looks cheaper can still leave out a drug or a doctor.
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 and a provider call script. It also lays out the Medigap guaranteed-issue rights that apply when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves, with a call script.
Get the plan-change cost calculator for the Humana exit →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
