Utah · Medicare Advantage · 2027 plan year
Medicare Advantage Plan Leaving Utah in 2027? Your Rights
A non-renewal notice is not an emergency, but it is a deadline. It also opens a door that is usually locked: the right to buy a Medigap policy with no health questions.
The bottom line
- If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Medicare for 2027, it must send a Plan Non-Renewal Notice in October. Your coverage runs through December 31, 2026.
- You can choose a new plan during Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15 to December 7), and you get an extra Special Enrollment Period from December 8, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Do nothing and you land in Original Medicare on January 1 with no drug plan.
- Federal law gives you a guaranteed-issue right to buy Medigap Plan A, B, D or G (C or F if you were Medicare-eligible before 2020) from any Utah insurer, no health questions, if you return to Original Medicare. Apply from November 1, 2026 and no later than March 4, 2027.
- Plan N is not on the federal guaranteed-issue list, and Utah's birthday rule does not cover this situation.
- This is not rare. For 2026, 9 Medicare Advantage plans were terminated in Utah (Select Health, Aetna, Cigna), touching 81 county-plan combinations, while 17 plan IDs arrived. 268,675 Utahns, 55% of the state's 488,797 beneficiaries, are in Medicare Advantage.
Every fall a share of Utah's Medicare Advantage members open a letter that says their plan will not exist next year. The letter is called a Plan Non-Renewal Notice, and Medicare.gov's one-line instruction for it is blunt: “You must look for a new plan for coverage next year.” What the letter does not spell out is that it also gives you something valuable. Under federal law, a Medicare Advantage plan leaving Medicare is one of the handful of situations in which every Medigap insurer in Utah must sell you a policy without asking about your health. If you have been stuck in Medicare Advantage because a Medigap application would be declined, this is the exit. This article walks through the notice, the two enrollment windows, the Medigap rules and their deadlines, what happens if you ignore the letter, and how many Utah plans actually left for 2026, county by county, using CMS's own crosswalk file.
What does a non-renewal notice mean, and when does it arrive?
A Medicare Advantage plan is a one-year contract between an insurance company and Medicare. Each year the company decides whether to renew each plan in each county. When it does not, the plan is “non-renewed” and ends December 31. Medicare.gov lists the mailing you will get: the Plan Non-Renewal Notice, sent by your plan in October, which tells you the plan “is leaving the Medicare program in the coming year.” If you get Extra Help with drug costs, Medicare itself sends a second letter in November, the CMS Non-Renewal Reminder Notice, reminding you to choose a new plan.
Three things the notice does not do. It does not end your coverage early; the plan must keep paying claims through December 31. It does not move you anywhere automatically; you have to act. And it does not mean the company is leaving Utah. In the 2026 turnover described below, Select Health, Aetna and Cigna each terminated plans and kept or launched others, so the company that sends you the letter may also be selling you the replacement. Keep the letter and the postmarked envelope; the CMS Medigap guide says you may need them as proof of your guaranteed-issue right.
What are your options, and by when?
You have three, and the calendar around them is tight enough to lay out in a table. The dates assume the usual case of a plan ending December 31, 2026.
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | Plan Non-Renewal Notice arrives from your plan. Annual Notice of Change letters for continuing plans arrive by September 30. | Medicare.gov mailings |
| October 15 – December 7, 2026 | Medicare Open Enrollment. Join any Medicare Advantage or Part D plan offered in your county; coverage starts January 1, 2027. | Medicare.gov, Open Enrollment |
| November 1, 2026 | Earliest day to apply for a guaranteed-issue Medigap policy (60 days before coverage ends). Ask for a January 1 effective date. | Choosing a Medigap Policy, Section 3 |
| December 8, 2026 – February 28, 2027 | Special Enrollment Period for members of a non-renewed plan: join a Medicare Advantage or drug plan if you missed December 7. | Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods |
| December 31, 2026 | Your plan's coverage ends. If you joined nothing, you are in Original Medicare on January 1. | Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods |
| March 4, 2027 | Last day to apply for a guaranteed-issue Medigap policy (63 days after coverage ends). | Choosing a Medigap Policy, Section 3 |
Sources: Medicare.gov, Plan Non-Renewal Notice — medicare.gov; Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods (“Between December 8 and the last day in February of the following year”) — medicare.gov; Medicare.gov, Medicare Open Enrollment — medicare.gov; CMS/NAIC, Choosing a Medigap Policy, Section 3 — medicare.gov (PDF).
Option 1: join a different Medicare Advantage plan. Use Open Enrollment, or the Special Enrollment Period if you run late. Your new plan starts January 1 (or the first of the month after you enroll, if you use the SEP in January or February). This is the simplest path if a 2027 plan in your county keeps your doctors, your hospital and your drug list. It does not use up your Medigap right, but it does forfeit it: the CMS guide is explicit that “you only have this right if you switch to Original Medicare (rather than join another Medicare Advantage Plan).”
Option 2: return to Original Medicare, add Medigap and a Part D plan. You do not need to enroll in Original Medicare; it is what you have when the plan ends. You do need to buy two things: a Medigap policy, using the guaranteed-issue right below, and a stand-alone Part D drug plan, using Open Enrollment or the SEP. In 2027 the Part D deductible can be as high as $700 and the out-of-pocket cap is $2,400. You keep paying the Part B premium ($202.90 a month in 2026) as you do now.
Option 3: do nothing. This is the option people choose by accident, and it is the expensive one. More on it below.
Which Medigap plans must sell you a policy, and what are the rules?
Section 3 of the CMS and NAIC guide Choosing a Medigap Policy lists the federal guaranteed-issue situations. The first one on the list is having a Medicare Advantage plan when “your plan is leaving Medicare” or “your plan stops giving care in your area.” In that situation an insurance company “must sell you a Medigap policy,” “must cover all your pre-existing health conditions,” and “can't charge you more for a Medigap policy because of past or present health problems.” The details are worth reading closely, because the right is narrower than people assume.
| Rule | What the CMS/NAIC guide says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Which plans | “Medigap Plan A, B, C*, D*, F*, or G* that's sold by an insurance company in your state.” Plans C and F only if you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. | Plan G is the fullest plan most Utahns can claim. Plan N, high-deductible G, and Plans K, L and M are not on the list. |
| Which companies | Any company selling that plan letter in your state. | Shop premiums across every Utah Medigap insurer; each must accept you for the listed plans. |
| Condition | “You only have this right if you switch to Original Medicare (rather than join another Medicare Advantage Plan).” | Joining another Advantage plan ends the right. |
| Earliest application | “60 days before the date your Medicare Advantage Plan coverage ends,” or by the date in the plan's termination notice. | Apply in November or December so the policy starts January 1. |
| Deadline | “No more than 63 days after your Medicare Advantage Plan coverage ends.” | March 4, 2027 for a plan ending December 31, 2026. |
| Start date | “Medigap policies can't start until your Medicare Advantage Plan coverage ends.” | Two plans cannot overlap; the earliest effective date is January 1. |
| Health questions | Company must cover pre-existing conditions and cannot charge more for health. | No underwriting, no waiting period, standard rate for your age and ZIP. |
| Proof | Keep letters and “the postmarked envelope these papers come in as proof of when it was mailed.” | Insurers may ask for a copy of the notice with your application. |
Source: CMS and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Choosing a Medigap Policy, Section 3, “Medigap guaranteed issue right situations” — medicare.gov (PDF); Medicare.gov, When can I buy a Medigap policy? — medicare.gov.
Two Utah-specific footnotes. First, a trial right may give you more. If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you were first eligible for Medicare at 65 and have been in it less than a year, or you dropped a Medigap policy to try Medicare Advantage for the first time less than a year ago, the guide says you can buy “any Medigap policy” sold in your state, or return to your old policy. That opens Plan N. Second, Utah's birthday rule does not apply. Utah Code §31A-22-620(3)(g) gives people who already own a Medicare supplement policy a 60-day window each year, starting on their birthday, to move to a comparable or lower plan with the same company; it says nothing about moving from Medicare Advantage into Medigap. The federal guaranteed-issue right is what you use here. The Utah Insurance Department and Utah SHIP, at (877) 424-4640 or (801) 538-3910, can confirm your rights before you apply.
How many Utah plans actually leave?
More than most members realize, because the churn is spread across companies and counties and the replacements arrive at the same time. We compared CMS's landscape files, which list every Medicare Advantage, MA-PD and Special Needs plan priced in every county, for contract years 2025 and 2026, and then looked up each disappearing plan in the CMS 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk, the file Medicare uses to decide where a plan's members go.
Sources: CMS, CY2025 Landscape (October 2024) and CY2026 Landscape (March 2026) files, Utah rows — cms.gov; CMS, 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk (October 1, 2025) — cms.gov; CMS, Medicare Monthly Enrollment, Utah, May 2026 — data.cms.gov.
Of the 11 plan IDs sold in Utah in 2025 that were gone in 2026, 2 were Humana plans that the crosswalk shows as “Renewal Plan” under a new plan number; those members were moved automatically. The other 9 carry the status “Terminated/Non-renewed Contract,” and their members got the letter this article is about.
| Plan terminated for 2026 | Company | Plan ID | Utah counties where it was sold in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Select Health Medicare Classic (HMO) | Select Health | H1994-002 | 12 |
| Select Health Medicare Enhanced (HMO) | Select Health | H1994-007 | 11 |
| Select Health Medicare Choice (PPO) | Select Health | H2246-018 | 13 |
| Aetna Medicare Advantra (HMO-POS) | Aetna Medicare | H8649-003 | 12 |
| Aetna Medicare Value (PPO) | Aetna Medicare | H5521-197 | 10 |
| Aetna Medicare Choice (PPO) | Aetna Medicare | H5521-101 | 6 |
| Aetna Medicare Advantra Select (HMO-POS) | Aetna Medicare | H8649-008 | 4 |
| Cigna True Choice Courage Medicare (PPO) | Cigna Healthcare | H7849-138 | 7 |
| Cigna Preferred Medicare (HMO) | Cigna Healthcare | H7389-001 | 6 |
Plans sold in Utah in the CY2025 Landscape file whose 2026 crosswalk status is “Terminated/Non-renewed Contract.” Enrollment in each plan is not shown in these files. Sources: CMS CY2025 Landscape; CMS 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk — cms.gov.
The county view matters more than the statewide count, because your choices are the plans priced in your county. Along the Wasatch Front the terminations were absorbed: Salt Lake and Davis each lost six 2025 plans and still went from 40 to 48 plans on the menu. Washington County, Weber, Box Elder and Uintah ended 2026 with fewer plans than they started, and Uintah dropped from 15 to 10.
Number of the county's 2025 Medicare Advantage plans that were terminated for 2026, twelve selected counties. Source: CMS CY2025 Landscape joined to the CMS 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk — cms.gov.
| County | Plans offered, 2025 | Plans offered, 2026 | 2025 plans terminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake | 40 | 48 | 6 |
| Utah | 39 | 42 | 5 |
| Davis | 40 | 48 | 6 |
| Washington | 32 | 29 | 4 |
| Weber | 40 | 38 | 6 |
| Cache | 31 | 31 | 4 |
| Iron | 32 | 33 | 4 |
| Tooele | 33 | 35 | 6 |
| Box Elder | 32 | 30 | 6 |
| Summit | 28 | 34 | 4 |
| Wasatch | 26 | 30 | 2 |
| Sanpete | 15 | 14 | 1 |
| Uintah | 15 | 10 | 3 |
| Carbon | 11 | 14 | 2 |
| Sevier | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| Duchesne | 22 | 24 | 3 |
| Millard | 13 | 17 | 1 |
| San Juan | 10 | 15 | 0 |
| Kane | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| Grand | 16 | 19 | 1 |
| Emery | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| Morgan | 33 | 38 | 6 |
| Juab | 17 | 20 | 3 |
| Beaver | 12 | 17 | 0 |
| Garfield | 13 | 17 | 1 |
| Wayne | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Rich | 19 | 18 | 4 |
| Piute | 11 | 15 | 1 |
| Daggett | 3 | 3 | 0 |
All 29 Utah counties, sorted by Medicare enrollment. Counts include Medicare Advantage, MA-PD and Special Needs plans priced in the county; stand-alone Part D plans excluded. Sources: CMS CY2025 and CY2026 Landscape files — cms.gov (CY2026 zip); CMS 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk — cms.gov.
Whether any Utah plan is terminated for 2027 will not be public until the notices go out in October and CMS posts the 2027 crosswalk. The pattern, though, is stable: a few plans leave every year, the companies stay, and the members who do well are the ones who treat the letter as a deadline rather than a nuisance.
What happens if you ignore the letter?
Medicare.gov's Special Enrollment Period page answers this in one sentence: “You'll be enrolled in Original Medicare if you don't join another Medicare Advantage Plan before your current plan ends.” Original Medicare by itself in 2027 means the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026; the 2027 figure comes out this fall), 20% coinsurance on doctor visits, outpatient care and equipment, and no annual out-of-pocket maximum. It also means no drug coverage if your old plan included Part D, so every prescription in January is at the pharmacy's cash price.
The drug gap has a second cost. Medicare charges a permanent Part D late enrollment penalty to anyone who goes 63 or more days in a row without Part D or other creditable drug coverage after their initial enrollment window. The non-renewal SEP lets you join a drug plan through February 28, 2027, but coverage starts the first of the following month, so a February enrollment leaves January and February uncovered. Join in December instead.
The Medigap side is more forgiving on paper and less forgiving in practice. You have until March 4, 2027 to apply with guaranteed issue, but the policy cannot be backdated, so an application in late February means paying full Original Medicare cost-sharing for January and February. Apply in November.
What to do the week the notice arrives
- Read the date and keep the envelope. Confirm the coverage end date (usually December 31) and file the letter and postmarked envelope; a Medigap insurer may ask for them.
- Decide the fork first: another Advantage plan, or Original Medicare plus Medigap. If you have health conditions, remember this may be your only underwriting-free path to Medigap. If your doctors and drugs fit a 2027 plan in your county, switching is simpler.
- If Medigap: get Plan G quotes from several Utah companies starting November 1, 2026, request a January 1 effective date, and attach the notice. Ask each company whether it also offers Plan N on a guaranteed-issue basis; some do voluntarily.
- Pick a Part D plan by December 7 if you are leaving Medicare Advantage. Run your actual drug list through Medicare Plan Finder; the 2027 deductible can be $700 and the cap is $2,400.
- If another Advantage plan: check the network, not the premium. Confirm your primary doctor, specialists and hospital system are in the 2027 network and your drugs are on the formulary before you enroll.
- Enroll before December 7 for a clean January 1 start. The December 8, 2026 to February 28, 2027 window is a safety net, not a plan.
- Call Utah SHIP or a licensed agent if anything is unclear. Utah SHIP is free at (877) 424-4640 or (801) 538-3910.
Bring the letter, your doctor list and your prescriptions, and we will lay out every 2027 option in your county, including whether the guaranteed-issue Medigap window is the better door for you. Plain English, no pressure. Education, not advice. We do not offer every plan available in your area.
Talk to a planner →Frequently asked questions
What happens if my Medicare Advantage plan is not renewed for 2027?
Your plan must send you a Plan Non-Renewal Notice in October telling you it is leaving Medicare at the end of the year. Your coverage continues through December 31, 2026. If you do not join another Medicare Advantage plan, you will be enrolled in Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) on January 1, 2027, with no drug coverage unless you also join a stand-alone Part D plan. You can pick a new plan during Medicare Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7, and you also get a Special Enrollment Period from December 8 to the last day of February to join a Medicare Advantage or drug plan.
Do I have a guaranteed right to buy a Medigap policy if my plan leaves Medicare?
Yes, under federal law, as long as you return to Original Medicare rather than join another Medicare Advantage plan. Any insurance company that sells Medigap in Utah must sell you Plan A, B, D or G (or C or F if you were eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020), must cover your pre-existing conditions, and cannot charge you more because of your health. You can apply as early as 60 days before your plan coverage ends and no later than 63 days after it ends. If your coverage ends December 31, 2026, that window runs from November 1, 2026 to March 4, 2027. The Medigap policy cannot start until your Medicare Advantage coverage has ended.
Is Medigap Plan N guaranteed issue when my Medicare Advantage plan is terminated?
Not under federal law. The federal guaranteed-issue list for this situation is Plans A, B, C, D, F and G. Plan N, high-deductible Plan G and Plans K, L and M are not on it, so a company may apply medical underwriting if you apply for them. Some insurers choose to accept the loss of a Medicare Advantage plan as a guaranteed-issue event for other plans anyway, so it is worth asking, but Plan G is the safe choice if you have health conditions. Utah's birthday rule does not help here either; it only lets existing Medigap policyholders move to a comparable or lower plan with the same company.
How common is it for a Medicare Advantage plan to leave Utah?
It happens every year. Comparing CMS's 2025 and 2026 landscape files, 48 distinct Medicare Advantage, MA-PD and Special Needs plans were offered somewhere in Utah in 2025 and 54 in 2026. Eleven 2025 plan IDs were not offered in 2026; the CMS 2026 Plan Crosswalk shows nine of them, from Select Health, Aetna and Cigna, with the status 'Terminated/Non-renewed Contract', while two Humana plans continued under new plan IDs. Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, Tooele, Box Elder and Morgan counties each lost six of their 2025 plans to terminations, and seventeen plan IDs were new to Utah in 2026. Whether any plan leaves for 2027 will be known when notices go out in October.
What if I do nothing after getting a non-renewal notice?
On January 1 you will be in Original Medicare with no Medicare Advantage plan and, unless you had a stand-alone drug plan, no Part D coverage. You will pay the Part B deductible ($283 in 2026) and 20% coinsurance with no out-of-pocket maximum, and any drugs you fill will be at full price. Going 63 or more days without creditable drug coverage triggers a permanent Part D late enrollment penalty. Because of the Special Enrollment Period you can still join a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan through the last day of February, and you can still buy a Medigap policy without health questions through March 4, 2027, but neither is retroactive, so the gap month costs are yours.
Should I pick another Medicare Advantage plan or go to Original Medicare with Medigap?
It depends on your health, your doctors and your budget, and a non-renewal is one of the few times you can make this choice without medical underwriting. If you have health conditions that would ordinarily block a Medigap application, this guaranteed-issue window may be the only chance you get to move to Original Medicare plus Medigap and a Part D plan. If a new Medicare Advantage plan in your county keeps your doctors and drugs and you are comfortable with its network and out-of-pocket maximum, switching plans during Open Enrollment is simpler. Either way, compare the actual 2027 plans in your county on Medicare Plan Finder or with Utah SHIP before December 7.
Sources
- Medicare.gov — Plan Non-Renewal Notice (sent by your plan in October): medicare.gov — plan non-renewal notice
- Medicare.gov — CMS Non-Renewal Reminder Notice (sent by Medicare in November to people with Extra Help; Product No. 11443): medicare.gov — CMS reminder notice
- Medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods (plan contract not renewed: December 8 to the last day of February; default to Original Medicare): medicare.gov — special enrollment periods
- Medicare.gov — Medicare Open Enrollment (October 15 to December 7): medicare.gov — open enrollment
- CMS and NAIC — Choosing a Medigap Policy, Section 3, guaranteed issue rights (Medicare Advantage plan leaving Medicare: Plans A, B, C*, D*, F*, G*; 60 days before to 63 days after; trial rights; proof of coverage ending): medicare.gov — Medigap guide (PDF)
- Medicare.gov — When can I buy a Medigap policy? and Get ready to buy (Medigap Open Enrollment, guaranteed issue rights, state rights): medicare.gov — when to buy; medicare.gov — get ready to buy
- Medicare.gov — Costs (2026 Part B premium $202.90, deductible $283): medicare.gov — costs
- CMS — Announcement of CY 2027 MA Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (2027 Part D deductible $700, out-of-pocket cap $2,400): cms.gov (PDF)
- CMS — 2026 Part C&D Plan Crosswalk (file dated October 1, 2025; plan status “Terminated/Non-renewed Contract” vs. “Renewal Plan”): cms.gov — 2026 plan crosswalk
- CMS — CY2025 and CY2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files (plans priced by county; Utah rows): cms.gov — landscape files; CY2026 landscape (zip); 2026 state-by-state fact sheet (PDF)
- CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (Utah total, Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare, May 2026): data.cms.gov — monthly enrollment
- Utah Legislature — Utah Code §31A-22-620, Medicare Supplement Insurance Minimum Standards (birthday-rule provision in subsection (3)(g)): le.utah.gov
- Utah Insurance Department — Medicare / Medigap / Medicare Advantage consumer page (Utah SHIP (877) 424-4640 or (801) 538-3910): insurance.utah.gov
About this article. Written by the Utah Retirement Income Data Desk and reviewed by Brian Penner, Retirement income & long-term care planner. Educational only — not medical, financial, or legal advice. Enrollment rules, Medigap guaranteed-issue rules and 2026 cost figures are taken from Medicare.gov, CMS and the CMS/NAIC Medigap guide as of September 11, 2026; the 2026 plan-termination counts are our own tabulation of CMS landscape and crosswalk files and do not show how many people were enrolled in each plan. Which plans, if any, are non-renewed in Utah for 2027 will be announced by the plans in October. Verify current details with your plan, Medicare.gov, or 1-800-MEDICARE before you act. Utah Retirement Income is a licensed independent insurance agency (NPN 16493717) and is not a government agency; we are not connected with or endorsed by Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, or any government program, and nothing here should be read as an endorsement by them. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area; please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program — in Utah, the Utah SHIP — to get information on all of your options. A $0-premium plan is not free; you still pay Part B premiums and cost-sharing. If you call or text us, you consent to be contacted at the number you provide about your options; message and data rates may apply, and you can opt out at any time by replying STOP.