Florida will have 51 fewer Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 than it did in 2026, the largest net drop of any state, according to a Becker’s Payer Issues tally of federal plan data. The count falls from 611 plans to 560. Wyoming is losing six of its 14, Nebraska sees 18 plans leave, and the Maryland Insurance Administration says Aetna will no longer offer any Medicare Advantage plans in Maryland, with Open Enrollment closing Dec. 7.
Where is the plan count falling fastest?
The Becker’s report, written by Jakob Emerson and published Sept. 28, links its state figures to CMS’s 2027 landscape fact sheets. Beyond Florida, it shows Ohio dropping from 212 plans to 180, a loss of 32, and Illinois from 157 to 136.
Percentages tell a different story. Wyoming falls from 14 plans to 8, about 43%, the steepest percentage decline Becker’s found. Maryland goes from 63 plans to 47, about 25%, Montana from 32 to 23, and Minnesota from 68 to 53, a 22% drop.
Every one of those figures is a net count: the plans offered in 2027 minus the plans offered in 2026. A member cannot read a state’s total as a verdict on a personal plan, because the question is whether that member’s own plan appears on the 2027 list for the county where the member lives.
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How much of Florida’s loss falls on South Florida?
A South Florida Sun-Sentinel report by Cindy Krischer Goodman, distributed by InsuranceNewsNet on Oct. 15, says plan offerings fall from 119 to 106 in Broward County and from 121 to 111 in Palm Beach County. Analysis by Mike Boshardy of The Pocket Protector found about 81,000 members in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties whose plans are ending or merging.
Of those, 42,289 are in plans no longer offered in their county and 38,738 are in plans merging with another plan from the same company. The report says Broward’s 106 remaining plans come from 15 parent organizations, and that 15 regional insurers won federal approval to cap enrollment in 2027. A county with fewer plans can still have a long list to compare, and a capped plan may not be open to every new applicant.
Does Nebraska’s 18 mean the market is collapsing?
No, and the Nebraska numbers show why a net count and an exit count are different things. An analysis of CMS landscape files by MyMedicarePlans, an independent site that is not part of the government, has Nebraska going from 54 plans in 2026 to 52 in 2027, a net loss of two.
Behind that small change, the site counts 18 plans leaving, 16 new ones, 12 returning with at least one change and 24 continuing unchanged. It says Molina Healthcare of Illinois has no Nebraska plans for 2027, while two carriers, Iowa Health Advantage and Molina Healthcare of Nebraska, are new, and that all 93 counties see at least one plan leave or change.
A Nebraska member in one of the 18 departing plans faces the same Dec. 7 decision as a Floridian, even though the state’s total barely moved. The reverse also holds: a state that adds plans can still have members whose own plan is gone, so the county-level list matters more than the state headline.
What does Aetna’s exit mean for Maryland?
The Maryland Insurance Administration’s Open Enrollment page says “Aetna will no longer offer any Medicare Advantage plans in the state,” and that anyone with an Aetna plan will need to select a new plan. Aetna is owned by CVS Health. Live Insurance News reports that Aetna had already pulled back to three Maryland counties in 2026.
The agency lists Maryland’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which gives free Medicare counseling, at (410) 767-1100. Its own consumer line is 1-800-492-6116, and its Health Coverage Assistance Team takes questions about the advisory at 410-468-2442.
Open Enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, and Medicare.gov says a Medicare Advantage member can join, drop or switch plans, add or drop drug coverage, or move between Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare. Anyone who moves to Original Medicare may need a separate drug plan and could consider Medigap coverage.
What does Wyoming’s drop leave behind?
Wyoming goes from 14 Medicare Advantage plans to 8, according to Becker’s, which means six of its 14 are gone. Live Insurance News reports, citing Yahoo Finance, that the average monthly premium for the plans that remain is rising by $23.32, more than in any other state. It puts Medicare Advantage enrollment at about 20,346 people in early 2026, roughly 15% of the state’s Medicare beneficiaries.
Fewer plans is not the same as no plans. CMS said in a Sept. 28 release that more than 99% of beneficiaries nationally can reach at least one Medicare Advantage plan, and that about eight in 10 members can keep their plan at the same or a lower premium. For a Wyoming member, the job is to compare what remains, plan against plan, on premium, drug coverage and doctors before the Dec. 7 cutoff, because the plan a member keeps by default may now cost more each month.
Is your Medicare Advantage plan leaving Florida, Nebraska, Wyoming or Maryland?
A plan that is gone on Jan. 1 leaves a member to pick a replacement by Dec. 7, and for Aetna members in Maryland there is no Aetna plan left to move into. A hurried pick can mean a different drug list, a different network and a monthly premium that has risen.
The Medicare Money Bundle holds all eight RetireShield Medicare guides in one 102-page download, including Open Enrollment in an Afternoon: Plan Finder in one sitting, and a keep-or-switch answer. Its Medigap guide prices both paths.
Get the keep-or-switch plan check in the Medicare Money Bundle for a plan that is leaving →
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.
