Maine members of Medicare Advantage plans that will not be offered in 2027 have until March 31, 2027, to buy a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy without being asked about their health. The state Bureau of Insurance announced the right on Oct. 29. Current coverage runs through Dec. 31, 2026, so the Medigap window stays open for 90 days after the plan ends.
The bureau says several health insurers are reducing the number of Medicare Advantage plans they offer in Maine for 2027. Affected members should receive a notice from their insurer, and the bureau advises them to keep it for their records.
Who has the Medigap right, and what comes next
The right belongs to people whose own plan is being discontinued, not to every Maine member who would simply like to switch. Anyone holding that notice has two paths, according to the Maine Bureau of Insurance. One is a new Medicare Advantage plan picked during annual enrollment. The other is a return to Original Medicare, Parts A and B, with a Medigap policy added on top.
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Members who choose the Medigap route need a separate Part D plan for prescription drugs, because a Medigap policy does not cover them. The bureau says plans are listed at Medicare.gov under “Find Plans Now.” Medigap policies are state-regulated, which is why the Maine bureau, and not Medicare itself, is the office that set out the March 31 deadline.
Two dates that are easy to mix up
Annual enrollment for Medicare Advantage runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, with new coverage starting Jan. 1. A member who wants another Advantage plan has to act inside that window. Dec. 7 is the date most people hear about, and it is the one tied to the Advantage choice.
The Medigap date is later. The bureau says affected enrollees have until March 31, 2027, which it counts as 90 days, to select any Medicare Supplement plan. Enrollment is on a guaranteed issue basis, meaning without medical underwriting. A member who lets Dec. 7 pass has not lost the Medigap option, but one who lets March 31 pass has.
Coverage under the current plan continues through Dec. 31, 2026, the bureau says. Nothing about the plan ending takes effect before the new year, so there is no gap in coverage for members who act on time. The Advantage path and the Medigap path both start from the same plan-ending notice.
What guaranteed issue means for health history
Medigap insurers can normally ask health questions and turn down or charge more for a pre-existing condition. Guaranteed issue switches that off. The insurer has to sell the policy it offers regardless of health, and it cannot charge more because of a condition.
KFF, the health policy research group, describes the same federal protection for people whose Medicare Advantage coverage is terminated: they qualify for a Medigap special enrollment period with guaranteed issue rights. KFF also flags a limit. Members whose plan is folded into another plan from the same insurer, rather than ended, would not have federal guaranteed issue rights if they switched to traditional Medicare.
That distinction matters in Maine because the bureau’s release speaks of plans that “will not be offered” in 2027. A member who cannot tell whether the notice describes an ending or a consolidation can ask the insurer, or call the state help line below, before choosing a route.
Why so many plans are ending this year
Maine is not alone. KFF reported on Oct. 27 that 4.3 million Medicare beneficiaries will have their plan terminated at the end of 2026. Of those, 3.1 million are in Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage and 1.2 million are in stand-alone Part D drug plans.
About 14 percent of people in general-enrollment Advantage plans with drug coverage are affected, up from 13 percent for 2026. Humana accounts for 19 percent of affected individual enrollees, or 530,000 people, and UnitedHealth Group for 13 percent, or 367,000. The Maine bureau did not give a count of affected Maine members or name the insurers involved, so the notice in the mailbox is the only way to know.
Where Maine members can get answers
The bureau says it does not regulate Medicare Advantage plans, since the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does. For plan questions, it points members to the State Health Insurance Program at 1-877-353-3771, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and to 1-800-MEDICARE, which answers around the clock. Complaints about a Medigap insurer go to the bureau at 1-800-300-5000.
One question the bureau’s release leaves to each member is which Medigap policy to pick in the 90 days it allows. Medigap insurers have to sell on a guaranteed issue basis during that stretch, so the March 31 date is the one that keeps the choice open. A member who has already compared a few policies by phone can still apply to any of them, without a health history, until that day.
Turned down for a Medigap policy before?
A Maine member with a health history that an insurer once priced up or refused has the most to lose by waiting. After March 31, the no-questions route closes, and the same health questions can come back.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit covers Medigap guaranteed-issue rights when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves or you return to Original Medicare, with a call script. The 55-page kit also includes an Excel cost calculator that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, so the switch comes with a written reason.
Get the Maine plan-ending Medigap call script and cost calculator →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
