25 Health Systems Dropped Medicare Advantage in 2026. Before October 15, Check Whether Your Doctors Are Still In Your Plan.

Twenty-five major health systems dropped Medicare Advantage contracts in 2026 - hospitals, medical groups, and health networks that stopped accepting the private plans because reimbursement rates fell below their costs. When a health system exits your plan’s network, your in-network access to its doctors, specialists, and facilities ends at the close of the contract.

What a Network Exit Actually Means

When a hospital or health system drops a Medicare Advantage plan, every doctor employed by or affiliated with that system becomes out-of-network for plan members. A cardiologist you have seen for a decade, a cancer specialist, a surgical center - if they work under a health system that exited your plan, your coverage for their services changed. Procedures that were covered at a low copay may now trigger the plan’s out-of-network cost-sharing, which is typically far higher or not covered at all under certain plan types.

The 2026 exits were concentrated in mid-sized health systems that had absorbed losses on Medicare Advantage contracts for several years before pulling out. Rural and suburban markets were disproportionately affected because those areas often have fewer competing health systems to fill the gap.

The Difference Between a Plan Change and a Provider Exit

Medicare Advantage plans send Annual Notices of Change in August and September covering premium, deductible, and formulary updates. Network changes are also disclosed in those documents, but they are typically buried in a separate provider directory update rather than featured in the main notice.

The most direct check: call your primary care physician, any specialist you see regularly, and any hospital you would likely use. Ask specifically whether they are still in your current plan’s network for 2027, not just whether they accept Medicare.

What to Do Before October 15

If a provider you depend on has left your network, the Annual Enrollment Period - October 15 through December 7 - is the window to switch to a plan that still covers them, or to return to Original Medicare with a separate Part D plan. Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder updates with 2027 network information on October 1.

References: 25 Health Systems Have Dropped Medicare Advantage in 2026: Here’s What Enrollees Should Do Now | Study Reveals Medicare Advantage Dropping Members