Braven Health will stop selling Medicare Advantage plans in New Jersey at the end of 2026, ending coverage in all 21 of the state’s counties. The insurer is owned by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJBarnabas Health, according to Patch, and its exit takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. Braven also appears on Becker’s list of 12 payers leaving Medicare Advantage entirely for 2027, updated Oct. 6.
Thomas Wilson, a Braven spokesman, said in a statement that the company “faced market conditions that compromised our ability to continue providing members with the high quality coverage” it wanted to offer. Patch reported the statement as part of its coverage of the notice sent to members.
Anyone in a Braven plan has to decide how they want to be covered on Jan. 1. A member who does nothing will be put back into Original Medicare on that date, according to a New Jersey insurance broker’s summary of the plan’s notice. Original Medicare does not include prescription drug coverage on its own, so a member who lands there by default has to decide separately about a Part D drug plan and any supplement.
For Braven members choosing between another Medicare Advantage plan and Original Medicare, The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, along with a prescription-by-plan comparison for sorting out which drugs each option covers.
Compare Braven replacement plans with the 2027 decision kit →
Who owns Braven
Braven began as a partnership between Horizon and Hackensack Meridian Health, and RWJBarnabas Health was added later, as a Healthcare Financial Management Association profile of the venture described it. The profile framed the venture around value-based care, in which providers are paid for outcomes rather than the number of services. Patch lists Horizon, Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJBarnabas Health together as Braven’s parent organizations.
What Jan. 1 means for a member’s coverage
Medicare Advantage plans are sold county by county, and Braven’s footprint covered the whole state. A member cannot simply move to a Braven plan in a neighboring county, because there is no Braven plan left in New Jersey. The choices come down to another insurer’s Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare with a separate Part D drug plan and, in many cases, a Medigap supplement.
Medigap rules add a wrinkle for anyone leaning toward Original Medicare, because the right to buy a supplement without health questions depends on timing and on why a person left a Medicare Advantage plan. Those rights are worth checking before Jan. 1 rather than after.
Who is entering New Jersey
At least one insurer is moving into the state as Braven leaves. Devoted Health’s 2027 materials say the company is expanding to five new states, New Jersey among them, for a total of 34 states and 1,341 counties, including 342 new counties. Devoted’s own count of its new states lists Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Hampshire and New Jersey. Which Devoted plans will be offered in which New Jersey counties, and at what cost, will show up in the Plan Finder once 2027 plan data is live for a member’s ZIP code. A new entrant has no track record in a member’s county, so doctors’ participation is worth confirming before enrolling.
The window for choosing
Annual enrollment runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Medicare.gov also lists a special enrollment period for people whose plan is not renewing, which begins Dec. 8 and ends on the final day of February the next year. The broker’s summary of Braven’s notice gives an earlier start, Nov. 1, but Medicare.gov’s page lists Dec. 8, and that is the date people should plan around.
Replacing a Braven plan before December 7
The free place to start is the Medicare Plan Finder, where a New Jersey ZIP code brings up every 2027 Medicare Advantage and drug plan available in that county, with premiums, drug costs and star ratings. Before comparing, a member should list each prescription with its dose, each doctor and hospital they use and the pharmacy they prefer. Plans change their drug lists and networks every year, so a plan that covered everything in 2026 can still look different for 2027.
Calling the doctor’s billing office is the surest way to confirm that a provider takes a specific plan, because online directories are not always current. Members who choose a new plan during annual enrollment will get coverage starting Jan. 1, the same day Braven coverage ends.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit puts the Open Enrollment calendar next to Medigap guaranteed-issue rights for people whose Medicare Advantage plan leaves or who return to Original Medicare, with a call script for the insurer.
Click here to get The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit for leaving Braven →
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
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.
