Some UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members in western Washington are about to lose access to one of the region's biggest health systems unless they act before Dec. 7. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Providence Swedish and PacMed Clinics will no longer be contracted with certain UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, meaning affected patients who want to keep seeing their current doctors will need to switch to a different carrier during this fall's enrollment window.
According to Providence Swedish, impacted members will need to change plans to one of the health system's other contracted Medicare carriers during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period in order to keep using Swedish and PacMed facilities after Dec. 31, 2026. The change does not affect everyone, however: patients enrolled in traditional Medicare, whether or not they carry a Medigap supplement or a Part D drug plan, will continue to be accepted at Providence Swedish and PacMed Clinics regardless of the UnitedHealthcare contract shift.
The local disruption lands squarely inside a nationwide shakeup. The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, which opened Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, arrives this year with what The Seattle Times describes as greater-than-usual disruption across both Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans for 2027. Nearly 3.2 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, or almost 11% of the market, will have to shop for new policies simply because their insurers are ending the plans they're currently on, as reported by CNN.
Plan Cancellations Spreading Across the Map
CMS says 5,532 Medicare Advantage plans will be offered nationally in 2027, a dip of only 21 plans from last year, per CNN's reporting. But that modest topline figure masks a much bumpier picture underneath: more than 40 states are expected to lose some Medicare Advantage plans in 2027, according to NPR, and nearly 200 counties, mostly rural, will have no Medicare Advantage options at all. NPR's reporting specifically flags Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Seattle as metro areas where more than a quarter of plans are shutting down.
An estimated 638,000 people spread across 193 counties nationwide will find themselves with zero Medicare Advantage choices for 2027, CNN reports, while more than 1 million people are losing their Part D drug plans outright and will have to pick new options. The number of Medicare Advantage enrollees whose plans were terminated has climbed steadily, from about 2 million for 2025 to 2.9 million for the current year and now nearly 3.2 million heading into 2027, CNN notes.
Costs are rising alongside the shrinking choices. The average enrollment-weighted maximum for in-network Medicare Advantage services will jump 9% to $6,603 in 2027, and nearly three-quarters of enrollees will pay more for prescription medications, with the average deductible for plans with drug coverage climbing 23% to $509, according to CNN. Healthcare Dive separately reports that the average Medicare Advantage out-of-pocket limit is expected to rise 10% while Part D deductibles rise roughly 30% industry-wide, and nearly 70% of health plan leaders surveyed expect their overall benefit packages to be less generous next year, including reduced dental coverage and higher specialist copayments.
Zero-Premium Drug Plans Are Disappearing
For stand-alone Part D drug plans, the picture is more mixed. The average monthly premium is estimated to rise only modestly, from $35 in 2026 to $36 in 2027, according to KFF. But that average conceals a harder truth for millions of seniors: no zero-premium stand-alone Part D plans will be available in 2027 for enrollees who don't receive low-income subsidies, and all 4 million people who paid nothing for their plan in 2026 will face higher premiums next year. The number of stand-alone plans on offer is also shrinking, falling from 360 plans run by 17 parent organizations in 2026 to 316 plans run by 15 organizations in 2027, with the average beneficiary's choices dropping from 11 plans to nine.
Some of the steepest premium hikes are concentrated in a handful of widely held plans. KFF's analysis found AARP Medicare Rx Preferred premiums rising by $50 or more in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with increases topping $75 in 37 states, while AARP Medicare Rx Saver premiums will climb by $50 or more in 33 states. By contrast, Centene's 2027 monthly premiums will run just $5.30 for Wellcare Value Script in 45 states and $7.30 for Wellcare Classic in 33 states, illustrating how dramatically outcomes vary depending on which plan an enrollee currently holds, the KFF report notes. Medicare Advantage drug plans still cover 56% of all Part D enrollees as of 2026, meaning stand-alone premium swings don't touch every beneficiary.
Plan Availability Varies Wildly by County
Geography shapes the shopping experience just as much as plan type. Beneficiaries in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, can choose from 66 Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans in 2027, the most of any county in the country, per KFF's county-level analysis. Nationally, 193 counties will have no Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans available for general enrollment in 2027, up sharply from 123 counties the year before.
Not every state is seeing the same pullback. In Maine, insurer Martin's Point will continue selling Medicare Advantage plans in every county statewide for 2027, according to the Portland Press Herald, with the insurer introducing new plans to replace ones it's discontinuing rather than exiting the market outright.
What the Rules Say and Where to Get Help
Federal rules set firm boundaries on how far costs can climb. No Medicare drug plan may carry a deductible higher than $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026, according to Medicare.gov. Traditional Medicare, meanwhile, has no yearly limit on out-of-pocket spending unless a beneficiary also carries supplemental coverage such as Medigap or enrolls in a Medicare Advantage plan instead, per Medicare.gov's cost guidance.
Anyone whose Medicare Advantage plan is canceled gains a guaranteed right to purchase a Medigap policy if they switch to traditional Medicare, and beneficiaries can move between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare during the annual enrollment window that closes Dec. 7. A separate Medicare Advantage open enrollment period runs Jan. 1 through March 31, 2027, offering another window for adjustments. For free, unbiased help sorting through the options, every state offers a State Health Insurance Assistance Program, and the federal Medicare Plan Finder lets beneficiaries compare drug and Advantage plans directly, including which licensed healthcare providers a given Advantage plan accepts.
