{
  "id": 15827085,
  "title": "The states facing the biggest Medicare shake-up this enrollment season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/the-states-facing-the-biggest-medicare-shake-up-this-enrollment-season",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T20:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Discovered",
    "slug": "discovered",
    "url": "https://cedarrepublican.com/syndicated/the-states-facing-the-biggest-medicare-shake-up-this-enrollment-season"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The 2026 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) brings significant changes to beneficiaries' coverage options. This year, Medicare Advantage insurers are pulling out of numerous states, leading to forced disenrollment for a large portion of enrollees. According to research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the disenrollment rate has surged to 10% in 2026, a tenfold increase from previous years. Twelve states saw disenrollment rates above 20%, with rates surpassing 40% in Vermont, where 92.2% of Medicare Advantage enrollees lost their plan. Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, New Hampshire, Maryland, and North Dakota also experienced high disenrollment rates.\n\nVermont's case is particularly striking, as it saw 92.2% of Medicare Advantage enrollees lose their plan for 2026, leading to the elimination of private Medicare options statewide. Maryland, on the other hand, faced a 40% disenrollment rate despite being an urban market. New Hampshire's disruption was caused by specific carrier decisions, with Anthem, Martin's Point, and Aetna exiting the state's individual Medicare Advantage market entirely for 2026.\n\nThe number of Medicare Advantage plans available to beneficiaries has also dropped significantly, with New Hampshire and Minnesota experiencing the steepest declines. In New Hampshire, the average beneficiary now has 13 fewer plans, while Minnesota has 11 fewer plans. UCare, the state's second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, completely exited the market in Minnesota, while UnitedHealthcare and Humana trimmed their offerings. In contrast, six states – Alabama, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, Utah, and West Virginia – saw an increase in the average number of plan choices for 2026.\n\nThe disruptions in the Medicare Advantage market are not uniform, affecting some states more than others. For beneficiaries in states with the sharpest plan losses, such as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Minnesota, the AEP is not a mere formality. It may be their only opportunity to determine if their current plan still exists and to explore alternative options. Therefore, beneficiaries are urged to compare alternatives early in the enrollment period rather than waiting for cancellation notices.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}