More than 87,000 Iowa Medicare beneficiaries have been told their current plan is being canceled or discontinued in their county for 2027, the Iowa Insurance Division announced on Oct. 15. Members who want no break in coverage when the new year starts must select a replacement by Dec. 31, 2026, the division says. The cancellations include both Wellmark’s and Medica’s Medicare Advantage PPOs, the preferred-provider plans many Iowans use in place of Original Medicare.
The division counts more than 700,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Iowa, so the notices reach a large share of the state’s older residents. The state is urging people to open the mail from their plans. Kristin Griffith, director of the state’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), said it is “more important than ever that Iowa Medicare recipients open and read mail from their Medicare plan.”
The state also reports that Iowans will no longer be able to buy a Medicare Advantage plan that provides in-network coverage with the Mayo Clinic. For a member of a Wellmark or Medica PPO, the first job is to find the notice, confirm the plan named on it is the one being canceled in that county, and decide whether to pick another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare. Anyone whose letter has gone missing can call the plan’s member line to confirm the status.
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Two canceled PPO lines and a Mayo gap
The Iowa Insurance Division’s Oct. 15 announcement puts the count at more than 87,000 people. It describes them as beneficiaries whose current plan is being canceled or discontinued in their county, which is a narrower group than every Wellmark or Medica customer in the state.
That county detail matters. A plan can end in one Iowa county and continue in the next, so two neighbors with the same insurer can get different mail. The letter itself, not the insurer’s name, tells a member whether the plan is ending where that person lives.
The loss of Mayo Clinic in-network coverage is a separate problem. Patients who travel to Mayo for care cannot count on a 2027 Medicare Advantage plan sold in Iowa to treat the clinic as in-network, according to the division. Those patients have to weigh that fact when comparing plans, not only the premium.
Dec. 7 is the usual cutoff, Dec. 31 is the one for a clean start
The division lists three dates. Dec. 7, 2026 is the standard open enrollment deadline for comparing and picking 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans. Dec. 31, 2026 is the deadline for people losing their plan to select new coverage with no gap beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The third date is Feb. 28, 2027, the last day to make changes under a Special Enrollment Period for people whose plans were canceled. That window offers a second chance to switch, but it comes after the new year. A member who waits until February risks spending January with coverage that does not match the plan they intended to have.
Going back to Original Medicare and the Medigap right
People leaving Medicare Advantage can return to Original Medicare and buy a Medigap supplement. Griffith described the ability to switch with guaranteed issue as “a rare opportunity,” meaning insurers cannot use medical underwriting to deny the policy or charge more over a pre-existing condition.
Medicare’s Medigap timing page says the guaranteed-issue window runs from 60 days before to 63 days after coverage ends. The plans available as a right are A, B, C, D, F, G, K and L. For a member whose coverage ends Dec. 31, that lead-in begins in early November.
Medigap does not include drug coverage, so anyone choosing that route also needs a standalone Part D plan. Dropping that step is a common way for a switch to leave a gap in prescription coverage, even when the medical side is settled.
Free counseling for Iowans comparing 2027 plans
SHIIP says its 430 trained volunteer counselors help more than 55,000 Iowans a year. Local one-on-one help is available at 1-800-351-4664, and the national Medicare line, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), is also listed by the division.
Members who want to compare on their own can enter their drugs and doctors into Medicare’s Plan Finder. The federal agency posts its plan-year announcements on the CMS newsroom, though the Iowa cancellations and deadlines come from the state division.
Holding a Wellmark or Medica letter before Dec. 31?
The notice starts a clock that ends on New Year’s Eve, and Dec. 7 comes first.
An Iowan whose Wellmark or Medica PPO is ending and who misses Dec. 31 can start 2027 with no plan, or with one that leaves out a Mayo Clinic doctor or a regular prescription. The state has no way to fix that after the fact.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit puts the choice on paper. It includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, a prescription-by-plan comparison, a provider call script and the Open Enrollment calendar, plus Medigap guaranteed-issue rights with a call script for anyone returning to Original Medicare.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
