Braven Health, the New Jersey Medicare Advantage insurer backed by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJBarnabas Health, is ending all ten of its plans in the state on Dec. 31, 2026. One of them, the Braven Medicare Choice PPO plan filed under contract number H0885-001, alone carries at least 21,458 members, and the ten plans together carry at least 42,349. Members who want coverage on Jan. 1 have until Dec. 7 to pick a replacement, and a special enrollment period runs through Feb. 28, 2027.
The counts come from federal plan-enrollment data and are minimums, because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services withholds counties with 10 or fewer members. Braven spokesman Thomas Wilson said the company “faced market conditions that compromised our ability to continue providing members” with its plans and “made the difficult choice to not offer Medicare Advantage plans after Dec. 31, 2026.”
For a Braven member, the question is which option fits the calendar: a new plan chosen by Dec. 7 starts on Jan. 1 with no gap, while a plan chosen afterward starts later. Anyone in a Braven PPO has to decide between another Medicare Advantage plan with the same doctors and drugs covered, a stand-alone drug plan paired with Original Medicare, or Original Medicare with a Medigap policy. Doing nothing is also a choice, and it has consequences described below.
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Which of Braven’s ten New Jersey plans are ending
Live Insurance News, working from the CMS enrollment file, tallied the minimum membership of each plan. The largest is the Braven Medicare Choice PPO under H0885-001 at 21,458 members. The next largest is Braven Medicare Choice Plus (PPO), H0885-007, at 4,976.
- Braven Medicare Freedom (PPO), H0885-002: 3,955 members
- Braven Medicare Choice (PPO), H0885-005: 3,841 members
- Braven Medicare Choice (PPO), H0885-006: 2,788 members
- Braven Medicare Freedom (PPO), H0885-008: 2,499 members
- Braven Medicare Freedom (PPO), H0885-009: 1,280 members
- Braven Medicare Choice (PPO), H0885-003: 1,237 members
- Two Braven Medicare Salute (PPO) no-drug plans, H0885-010 and H0885-011: at least 223 and 92 members
Several contracts share the Medicare Choice name, so the 21,458 belongs to one of them. A member should check the plan number on the non-renewal letter and on the Braven card before assuming which group applies.
What happens to a Braven member who picks nothing by Jan. 1
A member who chooses nothing is moved to Original Medicare, Parts A and B only. That means no drug coverage, no dental or vision benefits and no annual out-of-pocket cap, according to Live Insurance News.
The drug gap carries a longer-term cost. Going 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage can trigger a permanent late-enrollment penalty on Part D, the same report notes. Members who leave a Braven plan with prescriptions need a drug plan lined up before the calendar turns.
Dec. 7 and Feb. 28 are not the same kind of deadline
Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, and Medicare.gov says the plan must receive a request to join by Dec. 7 for coverage to begin Jan. 1. A plan chosen in that window starts with no break from the Braven plan.
The special enrollment period triggered by the plan exit runs Dec. 8, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027. Coverage under it starts the first of the month after the enrollment is processed, so a member who waits until January faces a month without the new plan. Medicare.gov describes special enrollment periods generally as available for situations such as losing or changing coverage, with timing that varies.
Medigap rights for members who go back to Original Medicare
A Braven member who returns to Original Medicare may want a Medigap supplement policy. A KFF analysis of the 2027 terminations, released Oct. 27, says people whose Medicare Advantage coverage is terminated “will qualify for a special enrollment period for Medigap with guaranteed issue rights”, so they cannot be denied a policy or charged more for a pre-existing condition. KFF counts about 4.3 million beneficiaries nationally whose plans end.
Live Insurance News puts the Braven Medigap guaranteed-issue window at Nov. 1, 2026 through March 4, 2027, and advises members to keep the non-renewal letter as proof.
Where a Braven member can compare 2027 plans for free
Medicare’s Plan Finder lists the New Jersey plans available for 2027, and the Medicare helpline at 1-800-633-4227 and New Jersey’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program at 1-800-792-8820 offer free counseling. Neither can tell a member whether a specific doctor stays in network; that takes a call to the doctor’s office. The open question for each Braven member is whether the doctors and drugs they use today are covered by the plan picked before Dec. 7.
Still without a 2027 plan after Braven?
A Braven member who waits past Dec. 7 gives up the Jan. 1 start, and one who picks nothing lands in Original Medicare with no drug coverage and a possible permanent Part D penalty. With ten plans ending, the doctors and prescriptions that were covered this year may not be covered under the next plan.
“The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit” includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, and a prescription-by-plan comparison. Part 2, “The Drug and Doctor Coverage Check,” walks through confirming each drug and each provider before a plan is chosen.
Get the plan calculator and drug-by-plan comparison for a Braven switch →
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.
