Aetna is leaving Maryland’s Medicare Advantage market for 2027, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico is keeping a single plan in four counties, and NextBlue of North Dakota is out, which leaves 21 North Dakota counties with no general-enrollment Medicare Advantage plan. Wyoming, separately, goes from 14 plans to eight. Members in all four states have until Dec. 7, the close of Medicare open enrollment, to choose 2027 coverage.
The notices matter most to members who assumed their plan would simply renew. A plan that is leaving cannot be kept, and the choice becomes another Medicare Advantage plan, if one is sold in the county, or Original Medicare. Medicare’s open enrollment opened Oct. 15, CMS says, and runs through Dec. 7.
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What does Aetna’s exit change in Maryland?
Becker’s Payer Issues reported Oct. 1 that Aetna is exiting Maryland and New Hampshire. Aetna had already shrunk its Maryland footprint to three counties, Frederick, Harford and Montgomery, for 2026. Maryland’s plan count falls from 63 to 47 for 2027, about 25%, according to Becker’s analysis of CMS data.
About 295,000 Maryland residents are in Medicare Advantage, 27% of the state’s 1.17 million beneficiaries, according to Live Insurance News. Its Oct. 11 report by Alicia Williams lists Maryland’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program, the free counseling service that does not sell plans, at 410-767-1100 or 1-800-243-3425.
Where in New Mexico can a Blue Cross member keep a plan?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico is keeping one Medicare Advantage HMO drug plan, and it is sold only in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties, Live Insurance News reported Oct. 19. Members elsewhere who have a Blue Cross plan are likely losing it. The Albuquerque Journal found Blue Cross is among three insurers pulling plans in the state, alongside Christus Health Plan and Presbyterian Health Plan.
Presbyterian’s cut affects about 30,000 people, and Kourtney Muñoz, a Presbyterian spokesperson, told the paper it was a financial decision. Christus is leaving Medicare Advantage in New Mexico, where it served eight counties, effective Dec. 31. “It’s just all kind of a big mess,” Brady Hess, an independent insurance adviser at Vista Insurance Partners, told the Journal. A state-level count of 239,822 New Mexicans in Medicare Advantage as of January 2026 gives the scale; the state’s hotline for free counseling is 1-800-432-2080.
Why do 21 North Dakota counties lose every general-enrollment plan?
NextBlue of North Dakota, which CMS lists under Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, is gone from all 21 of those counties, MoneyGeek’s analysis of CMS data found. That is the most of any state. KFF says Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will sell Medicare Advantage drug plans only in Michigan and Wyoming for 2027, dropping Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. Becker’s Hospital Review lists Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota among the payers exiting the market.
MoneyGeek puts the share of North Dakota’s general-enrollment members in plans with no successor in their county at between 42.8% and 45%. Its estimates run to about 608 affected members in Ward County and 370 in Williams County. Medica cost plans, a different type of Medicare plan, are listed in all 21 counties.
How does Wyoming end up with six fewer plans?
Wyoming’s plans fall from 14 to eight, a 43% drop that is the steepest in the country, per Becker’s analysis. The average monthly premium rises from $45.91 to $69.23, the largest increase of any state. Live Insurance News says only two carriers remain, and that Lasso Healthcare offers a medical savings account plan at a $0 premium. About 20,346 of Wyoming’s roughly 132,000 Medicare enrollees are in Medicare Advantage.
What choices does a member have when a plan is gone?
Medicare.gov lists a special enrollment period from Dec. 8 through the last day of February for people whose plan is ending. Members who join nothing else are enrolled in Original Medicare. Anyone who returns to Original Medicare also has a window to buy a Medigap policy, which runs from 60 days before the plan ends to no more than 63 days after. That right applies only to people who switch to Original Medicare, and it works out to Nov. 1 through March 4 for a plan ending Dec. 31.
Is your 2027 plan still sold in Maryland, New Mexico, North Dakota or Wyoming?
A plan that is leaving cannot be kept, and the date to replace it with another Medicare Advantage plan is December 7. In counties where nothing is left, the choice narrows to Original Medicare.
The Medicare Money Bundle holds 8 Medicare guides in one 102-page download. Open Enrollment in an Afternoon runs Plan Finder in one sitting and ends on a keep-or-switch answer, and Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage covers the Original Medicare path.
Get the Plan Finder walk-through for replacing a plan that is leaving, plus 7 more Medicare guides →
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.
