Aetna Medicare Advantage members in two states are about to lose their plan for good. For 2027, the insurer is leaving Medicare Advantage in Maryland and New Hampshire altogether, and it is also dropping its standard plans in 123 counties elsewhere. Open Enrollment is already running, and anyone holding one of the affected plans has to land somewhere new before January 1.
The question for those members is simple to ask and harder to answer: Aetna is gone in my state, what do I switch to and by when? The answer depends on which of two deadlines applies, and on whether the next stop is another Medicare Advantage plan or Original Medicare with a Medigap policy.
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Two whole-state exits and 123 counties of pulled plans
Becker’s Payer Issues reported on October 1 that Aetna is pulling standard plans from 123 counties and exiting Maryland and New Hampshire for 2027. Those are two separate moves. The state exits remove Aetna’s Medicare Advantage presence from Maryland and New Hampshire, while the county pullback applies to standard plans in 123 counties across the rest of its footprint.
The same report puts Aetna’s 2027 lineup at 654 Medicare Advantage plans, up from 642, because the company is adding 29 chronic-condition special needs plans and cutting 20 PPOs. It will still sell in 2,072 counties, down from 2,139, and is pulling dual-eligible plans from a net 168 counties. Becker’s is a trade publication, and the figures are its tally, not a count of affected members. No member total has been published for either state.
The December 7 date and the December 31 date are not the same
Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, the window for anyone to change plans for the following year. Iowa’s insurance division, describing the same 2027 cancellations in its own state, said the period opens October 15, 2026, and runs through December 7, 2026, and that December 31 is the cutoff for people losing a plan to choose new coverage with no gap starting January 1.
Aetna’s own 2027 guidebook is blunter for members whose plan is ending. It states that the current Aetna Medicare Advantage plan will no longer be available in 2027, that benefits stay active through December 31, 2026, and that members should enroll in a new plan by December 31. Members in Maryland and New Hampshire who want to settle everything inside the standard Open Enrollment window should still treat December 7 as the working deadline.
A second chance runs through February 28
People whose plan is ending are not locked out after the calendar flips. The same Aetna guidebook says members can enroll in a new Medicare plan under a Special Enrollment Period until February 28, 2027. Iowa’s regulator lists the same date as the last day to make changes for people whose plans were canceled.
That grace period has a cost. Waiting past December 31 can leave a gap in coverage in January, and anyone who defaults to Original Medicare also drops drug coverage unless a standalone Part D plan is added. The February date is a safety net, not a reason to wait.
Original Medicare and Medigap carry their own clock
A plan leaving the area also opens a door that is normally closed. Medicare.gov says that when a Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare or no longer covers where a member lives, the member has a guaranteed issue right: the right to buy any Medigap policy sold by an insurance company in the state. Insurers cannot turn the person down or charge more over health history during that window.
The timing is tight. The right begins 60 days before the Medicare Advantage coverage ends and lasts no more than 63 days after it ends, so a plan that ends December 31 puts the window in roughly November through early March. Medicare.gov adds that the rights can last an extra 12 months in certain circumstances. Choosing Original Medicare with a Medigap policy still means picking a separate Part D drug plan.
What the switch decision actually turns on
Three things decide whether a replacement plan works: whether the member’s doctors and hospital are in its network, whether current prescriptions are on its formulary at an acceptable tier, and what the total yearly cost comes to once premiums, copays and the out-of-pocket cap are added together. A lower monthly premium can hide a higher bill for specialists or drugs.
Aetna lists a member line at 1-844-602-1505 (TTY 711) for plan questions. Free, neutral counseling is also available through each state’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program, and the national line at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is open around the clock. Maryland and New Hampshire members have the same access to both as anyone else.
Aetna is gone in Maryland and New Hampshire, so which plan is next and is it locked in by December 7?
A member whose Aetna plan disappears on January 1 has to compare every other plan in the area on premiums, drug costs and doctor networks, while two deadlines and a Medigap window run at once. Choosing on premium alone can leave a specialist out of network or a prescription uncovered by February.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes an Excel cost calculator that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, a prescription-by-plan comparison, a provider call script and the Open Enrollment calendar. Its Medigap section covers guaranteed-issue rights when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves, with a call script for the insurer.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
