For a Florida retiree fighting cancer, the name of the hospital on the insurance card can matter as much as the diagnosis. Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer hospital, is now out of network for several of the biggest Medicare Advantage plans in the market. If you or a family member relies on a Humana or Aetna Advantage plan and counts on Moffitt for care, this is a decision you need to understand before the fall enrollment window closes.
Which Medicare Advantage plans no longer cover Moffitt
According to Moffitt’s own patient notices, its network status with two major insurers has changed. Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plans went out of network on December 1, 2025. Humana Medicare Advantage PPO and HMO plans followed on July 1, 2026. The change applies to those Medicare Advantage products specifically, which is the private-plan alternative to Original Medicare that tens of millions of older Americans now use.
Moffitt has published the details for each insurer separately. The center’s Humana notice and its Aetna notice spell out which plans are affected and what patients should do. Being out of network does not mean the door is locked, but it generally means far higher out-of-pocket costs, and in many Advantage plans, no coverage at all for non-emergency care outside the network.
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The continuation-of-care window for current Humana patients
If you are an established Humana Medicare Advantage patient at Moffitt, you are not cut off overnight. Moffitt says established Humana patients can keep their in-network benefits through a continuation-of-care period that runs until December 29, 2026. That grace period is meant to let people already in active treatment finish a course of care without an abrupt switch. It is not permanent, though, and it does not automatically apply to new patients trying to start treatment at Moffitt under an affected Humana plan.
The takeaway is timing. A continuation-of-care window is a bridge, not a solution. If you are relying on it, you have until late December to line up a plan that keeps Moffitt in network for 2027, or to move to a form of Medicare that Moffitt still accepts.
If you are helping an older parent through this, a practical first step is to call the number on the back of the insurance card and ask, plan by plan, whether Moffitt will be in network for the coming year. Note the date, time, and representative, or ask for confirmation in writing, because verbal assurances about networks can be hard to enforce later. Moffitt’s own financial counselors can also confirm which plans the center expects to accept, and starting that conversation before open enrollment gives a family time to compare options calmly rather than under deadline pressure.
What coverage Moffitt still takes
Two important paths remain open. Moffitt still accepts Original Medicare, the traditional government-run program, which lets you see any provider in the country that takes Medicare, including Moffitt. It also still takes Humana’s “Gold Choice” plan, which is a Private Fee-for-Service plan rather than a standard HMO or PPO Advantage product. Those are meaningful options for a patient who wants to keep Moffitt without abandoning coverage entirely.
The trade-off with Original Medicare is that it does not cap your annual out-of-pocket spending on its own, which is why many people pair it with a Medigap supplement policy. Whether you can buy a Medigap policy without medical underwriting depends on your state’s rules and your timing, so it is worth confirming before you drop an Advantage plan you already have.
Why the fall enrollment window is the moment to act
Medicare’s annual open enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7 each year. That is the standard window to switch between Medicare Advantage plans, move from Advantage back to Original Medicare, or change your drug coverage, with the new choice taking effect January 1. For a Moffitt patient on an affected Humana or Aetna plan, that window is the cleanest chance to make a change that protects access to in-network cancer care for 2027.
Before you switch, check the specifics on Medicare.gov and, ideally, call Moffitt’s financial counselors to confirm exactly which plans it will be in network for in the coming year, since insurer networks can shift again. Do not assume that because a plan covered Moffitt last year, it will next year.
The household decision underneath the insurance jargon
Strip away the plan names and the choice comes down to this: an affected patient must either switch to a plan that keeps Moffitt in network during open enrollment, or move to Original Medicare to keep in-network cancer care. Doing nothing risks discovering, in the middle of treatment, that a scan or infusion now comes with a bill you did not expect. Cancer care is expensive enough without a network surprise on top of it. If Moffitt is central to your family’s care, mark the October 15 date, use the continuation-of-care window as breathing room rather than a plan, and confirm the network status in writing before you commit.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
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