A new KFF analysis examines Medicare Advantage coverage options in 2026 for the 2.6 million enrollees whose Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage was terminated at the end of 2025. Plan termination affected 13% of all enrollees in such plans in 2025, more than double the 6% affected the year before.
Medicare Advantage insurers have warned that recent and prospective changes to the Medicare Advantage payment system are driving plan terminations and reductions in benefits. The analysis finds, however, that almost all of the enrollees whose plans were terminated have at least one Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage (MA-PD) available in 2026, and on average they have more than two dozen plan options to choose from in their area. Most beneficiaries affected by the termination of a plan that had a zero-premium MA-PD option in 2025 also had a zero-premium MA-PD option for 2026.
Just 1.1% of those who were in terminated plans nationwide, or fewer than 30,000 people, have no option for a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage for 2026.
The analysis also looks at the characteristics of plans that were terminated and the geographic areas where the terminated plans were offered in 2025. The impact of the plan terminations varied across states, disproportionately affecting Medicare Advantage enrollees in rural states that comprise a small share of overall Medicare Advantage enrollment.
