Humana Medicare Advantage exits 2027 affecting approximately 600,000 members for the 2027 plan year, a move the company confirmed on its July 29 earnings call as part of a broader effort to restore profitability across its Medicare business. Non-renewal notices are required by federal law to be dated October 2, giving affected members time to choose new coverage before Medicare’s annual enrollment period runs from October 15 through December 7.
Why Humana Is Exiting These Plans
Humana Chief Financial Officer Celeste Mellet described the strategy as cutting “off the lower tail of profitability” rather than reducing benefits evenly across the company’s full portfolio. The targeted exits affect plans rated 3.5 stars or lower for the 2027 bonus year, representing about 8% of Humana’s 7.2 million Medicare Advantage members. President and CEO Jim Rechtin said the goal is returning the company to a sustainable individual Medicare Advantage pretax margin of at least 3% by 2028.
This marks Humana’s second consecutive year of market exits. For 2026, the company pulled back from three states and 194 counties, narrowing its footprint to 46 states and 85% of US counties. The 2027 round takes a different approach, targeting specific low-performing plans rather than entire states or regions, though Humana has not yet disclosed which counties will be affected.
What Happens to the 600,000 Affected Members
Humana expects to recapture roughly 40 percent of affected members by moving them into other plans the company offers, consistent with its experience during the 2026 exit cycle. That would leave an estimated 360,000 members needing to find coverage elsewhere entirely. Shares of Humana (NYSE: HUM) fell 1.79% on the news, closing at $385.54 and valuing the insurer near $46.3 billion, as investors weighed the tradeoff between shedding weaker-margin plans and losing overall membership scale.
Humana’s second-quarter Insurance segment benefit ratio came in at 91.2%, in line with management’s guidance, even as individual Medicare Advantage membership grew roughly 25% year over year, the same enrollment surge that widened the gap between government funding and medical cost trends heading into the 2027 bid cycle.
The Medigap Right Hidden in the Bad News
For members whose plans are discontinued, federal law provides a meaningful protection: a guaranteed-issue right to purchase a Medigap policy without medical underwriting. Under this rule, an insurer cannot reject an applicant or charge more based on pre-existing conditions, a protection that typically isn’t available to longtime Medicare Advantage enrollees who want to switch to Original Medicare outside specific protected windows. According to KFF, that guaranteed-issue window lasts 63 days from the loss of coverage.
For someone who developed a health condition after first enrolling in Medicare Advantage, this can be a valuable opportunity that’s easy to miss amid the frustration of receiving a non-renewal notice. Available standardized Medigap plans include A, B, C, D, F, and G depending on eligibility, though people who became newly eligible for Medicare in 2020 or later generally cannot purchase Plans C or F, making Plan G one of the more relevant options to price and compare.
Three Steps for Affected Members
Anyone who receives a non-renewal notice should take a few concrete steps before the December 7 enrollment deadline. First, read the notice immediately and note every enrollment deadline listed, including any Special Enrollment Period tied to the plan’s discontinuation. Second, if returning to Original Medicare is appealing, price a guaranteed-issue Medigap Plan G before defaulting into another Medicare Advantage plan, since this underwriting-free window won’t remain open indefinitely. Third, if staying with Medicare Advantage, verify that the specific replacement plan for 2027, not the plan held in 2026, still includes the doctors, hospitals, and prescription drugs that matter most.
Members who do nothing and don’t actively choose a new plan generally default back to Original Medicare once their old Advantage coverage ends, according to Medicare’s standard rules, and would separately need to consider standalone Part D prescription drug coverage if their discontinued plan included drug benefits.
A Broader Industry Pattern
Humana’s exits aren’t happening in isolation. Confirmed and reported Medicare Advantage withdrawals from Centene, Molina, and UnitedHealthcare bring the industry-wide total of affected 2027 members past one million, according to the Healthcare Labyrinth, a Medicare Advantage analysis publication. A study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers, published in JAMA in February, found that roughly 2.9 million Medicare Advantage members were forced to find new plans for 2026 alone, about 10% of all enrollees, compared with a historical average forced disenrollment rate of just 1% between 2018 and 2024. Rural beneficiaries faced plan disruptions at double the rate of urban enrollees, and in seven states more than 40% of enrollees lost their plans, with Vermont losing 92% of its statewide Medicare Advantage coverage.
CMS finalized an average Medicare Advantage payment increase of 2.48% for 2027, worth roughly $13 billion industry-wide (rising to 4.98% including estimated risk-score trends), though analysts expect that increase to slow rather than reverse the pace of plan exits across the industry.
Broker Commission Structures Are Also Shifting
Beyond which plans remain available, the disruption extends to how insurance brokers get paid to sell them. Aetna told marketing organizations in August that it would not pay commissions on 123 Medicare Advantage plans across 33 states for the 2027 plan year, covering nearly 780 counties. That follows a broader pattern from 2026, when Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Elevance Health, Centene, and various regional carriers similarly cut or eliminated commissions on selected plans. CMS set the 2027 fair market value cap for initial Medicare Advantage commissions at $725 per member per year in most states, with renewal commissions capped at $363, though carriers may pay below those caps at their discretion.
Broader Implications
Shifts like this reflect mounting financial pressure across the Medicare Advantage industry as insurers balance government payment rates against rising medical costs, a dynamic likely to shape further plan consolidation heading into 2028. For more business and insurance industry coverage, visit The Tech Marketer.
What Happens Next
Non-renewal notices are scheduled to reach affected Humana members by October 2, 2026, with Medicare’s annual enrollment period running October 15 through December 7. Coverage changes take effect January 1, 2027. This article will be updated as Humana discloses which specific counties and plans are affected.
Latest Updates
Yahoo Finance’s report (via 24/7 Wall St.), published August 30, focused on the Medigap guaranteed-issue right available to affected members. TechStock²’s report, published August 31, detailed the investor and stock market reaction. Insurance Business magazine’s report, also published August 31, added broker-focused detail on commission structure changes and the broader industry exit pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many Humana Medicare Advantage members are affected by the 2027 exits?
Approximately 600,000 members are affected, representing about 8% of Humana’s 7.2 million total Medicare Advantage membership.
2. When will affected Humana members receive their non-renewal notice?
Federal rules require the notice to be dated October 2, 2026, for coverage ending December 31, 2026.
3. What is the guaranteed-issue Medigap right, and who qualifies?
When a Medicare Advantage plan is discontinued, federal law allows affected members to purchase a Medigap policy without medical underwriting for 63 days after losing coverage, meaning insurers cannot deny them or charge more due to health history.
4. Why is Humana discontinuing these specific plans?
Humana is targeting plans rated 3.5 stars or lower for the 2027 bonus year as part of a strategy to restore a sustainable pretax Medicare Advantage margin of at least 3% by 2028.
5. Is Humana the only insurer exiting Medicare Advantage plans for 2027?
No. Centene, Molina, and UnitedHealthcare have also confirmed or reported 2027 Medicare Advantage withdrawals, bringing the industry-wide total past one million affected members.
Sources and References
- Gerelyn Terzo, “Humana Is Cutting Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027. The Non-Renewal Letters Arrive in Early October,” Yahoo Finance (via 24/7 Wall St.), August 30, 2026 — https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/humana-cutting-medicare-advantage-plans-153022830.html
- Leokadia Głogulska, “Humana Stock Falls 1.8% as 600,000-Member Medicare Exit Tests Margin Recovery,” TechStock² (ts2.tech), August 31, 2026 — https://ts2.tech/en/humana-stock-falls-1-8-as-600000-member-medicare-exit-tests-margin-recovery/
- Mark Rosanes, “Humana exits affect 600,000 members – brokers have weeks to act,” Insurance Business, August 31, 2026 — https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/benefits/humana-exits-affect-600000-members–brokers-have-weeks-to-act-587965.aspx
