More than 14,200 New Hampshire Medicare Advantage members lose their plans on Jan. 1, 2027, when Aetna and WellSense leave the state, the New Hampshire Insurance Department says. The department puts it plainly: CVS Health, Aetna’s parent, and BMC Health System, which runs WellSense, are leaving the market entirely. Those members have until Dec. 7 to pick a replacement, and a later window opens for anyone left without coverage.
Who is leaving, and who stays
For 2027 the state will have 20 Medicare Advantage plans from three organizations: Humana, UnitedHealth Group, which sells as UnitedHealthcare, and new entrant Devoted Health. Devoted is bringing six plans, in portions of the state only. Eight of New Hampshire’s 10 counties will still have more than one organization offering coverage.
Becker’s Payer, citing federal plan data, separately lists New Hampshire among the states Aetna is leaving for 2027. The department cannot stop any of it: it says it cannot require a Medicare Advantage carrier to offer coverage in the state.
Coös and Carroll counties get a late fix
Coös County, the state’s northernmost, looked like the worst case. The department’s county listing shows Devoted Health as the only organization there, with no Humana plan and no UnitedHealthcare plan. In Carroll County, Devoted and a UnitedHealthcare nursing-home plan are listed, and Humana is not.
Governor Kelly Ayotte announced on Oct. 16 that Devoted plans will be offered in Coös and Carroll for 2027 after work with federal regulators, and the department’s Oct. 22 update repeats it. Plan details are expected before Nov. 1, and the department encourages anyone weighing those newly announced plans to wait for that information before choosing.
The question every affected member faces is concrete. Anyone holding an Aetna or WellSense card has to choose a Humana, UnitedHealthcare or Devoted plan, or Original Medicare, and confirm that each doctor, hospital and prescription is covered at a price that works. Coös and Carroll members must also decide whether to wait for Devoted’s details, with Dec. 7 still the date the choice has to be made.
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Three dates, three different rights
Annual open enrollment runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2026, for coverage starting Jan. 1. Members of a plan that is terminating also get a separate special enrollment period, which the department lists as Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2027, for people losing coverage at year-end. It is a different right from switching in open enrollment, and it leaves a gap in coverage if the choice waits until January.
The department also lists a Medicare Advantage open enrollment from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2027, which lets someone already in an Advantage plan change to another or return to Original Medicare. Choosing by Dec. 7 remains the cleanest path because the new plan starts the day the old one ends.
What the 2027 plans cost
An earlier department review, from before the Oct. 16 announcement, counted 13 plans with a $0 monthly premium for 2027, at least one in each of eight counties. It also showed a shift from nine HMO and 10 local PPO plans in 2026 to six HMO and 14 local PPO plans in 2027. The department says those figures may change.
The federal government projects statewide Medicare Advantage enrollment to fall by 18,104 beneficiaries in 2027. The department stresses that this is a projection of overall enrollment, not a count of members whose plans are ending. Medicare’s Plan Finder shows the premium, drug costs and out-of-pocket cap for each plan by ZIP code, and every prescription should be entered with its dose.
Medigap for those heading to Original Medicare
Members who return to Original Medicare can buy a supplement without a health review. Medicare.gov says that right begins 60 days before coverage ends and runs for 63 days after, and applies only to a move to Original Medicare. A Medigap policy adds a monthly premium, so the comparison with a $0-premium plan is a cost question as much as a doctor question.
The department is holding town halls hosted by Commissioner DJ Bettencourt: Nov. 9 at Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster at 10 a.m. and the Berlin Senior Center at 12:45 p.m., Nov. 12 at The Hub 50+ in Keene at 1:15 p.m., and Nov. 13 at the Gibson Center in North Conway at 12:30 p.m. Its Consumer Services Division takes questions at 800-852-3416 or consumerservices@ins.nh.gov.
Does one of the three remaining carriers cover the same doctors?
A member who guesses at a replacement plan can land with a doctor out of network or a drug on a costlier tier on Jan. 1, and the next regular chance to change is a year away. With Aetna and WellSense gone, three carriers are left to compare, and Coös and Carroll members are waiting on details.
“The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit” puts a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors next to a prescription-by-plan comparison and a provider call script. The Open Enrollment calendar keeps the Dec. 7 date in front of the person deciding, and the call script covers the doctor’s-office questions that Plan Finder cannot answer.
Compare Humana, UnitedHealthcare and Devoted with the decision kit →
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.
