Your Medicare Advantage Plan Is Ending in 2027: Your Options on the First Coast

“I’m confused about when I can change my Medicare plan. Can you clarify the different enrollment periods for me?” Someone posted that question on a public consumer Medicare Q&A site, and it is the question we hear most in the second week of October. This year it often comes with an envelope attached: a letter from a Medicare Advantage plan saying it will not be offered in 2027. The short answer is that you are not losing Medicare. You are losing one private plan, and the letter itself starts several clocks that work in your favour if you know they are running.

This guide is for people in Jacksonville, Orange Park, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach and Broward County who opened that letter: what it means, what happens if you set it aside, your enrollment windows, the Medicare Supplement right most people never hear about, and the drug-coverage gap.

What is a plan non-renewal letter, and when does it have to arrive?

Medicare.gov calls it the Plan Non-Renewal Notice. It comes from your plan, not from Medicare, it usually arrives in October, and it tells you that “your plan is leaving the Medicare program in the coming year.” It is a different document from the Annual Notice of Change, which your plan sends in September to describe changes in coverage and costs for January.

The federal rule behind it is 42 CFR § 422.2267. It says the Non-renewal Notice “must be provided at least 90 calendar days before the date on which the nonrenewal is effective,” and that for contracts ending on 31 December “the notice must be dated October 2.” CMS fixed that date to keep Medigap guaranteed-issue rights consistent for everyone nationally, with one carve-out: the 2 October dating does not apply to people in special needs plans.

The same rule lists what the letter has to contain. It must say the plan is ending and when, describe your enrollment periods and the last day to choose, explain what happens if you take no action, describe other plans available in your area, list 1-800-MEDICARE and counselling resources such as your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, and explain Medigap and the special right to buy a Medigap policy, with a Medigap fact sheet enclosed. If your letter is missing any of that, call the plan and ask for it.

Medicare sends its own follow-ups as well. Medicare.gov lists a CMS Non-Renewal Reminder Notice that goes out in November, and a CMS Non-Renewal Action Notice in January telling people whose plan has exited that “you must join a Medicare drug plan if you want Medicare drug coverage this year.”

Was your plan ended, or folded into another plan?

This is the distinction that decides everything else, so read your letter with it in mind. Insurers do two different things to plans they stop offering. A non-renewal (or a service area reduction, where the plan keeps running but drops your county) ends your enrollment. A consolidation, which the industry calls a crosswalk, moves you automatically into another plan from the same company, and you hear about it in your Annual Notice of Change.

CMS draws the line plainly in its enrollment guidance: “Individuals affected by MA or Part D plan consolidations are not eligible for this SEP because plan consolidations are not terminations nor non-renewals.” If you were crosswalked, you still have the ordinary Annual Enrollment Period, but not the non-renewal Special Enrollment Period, and not the Medigap guaranteed-issue right described below. If the letter is a Plan Non-Renewal Notice, you have all of them.

That is also why the plan counts in the next section come with a warning label. A plan ID that disappears from one year’s CMS file to the next is consistent with either event. In our matching, 76 of the 84 missing county-level listings belong to contracts that still file plans in the same county for 2027, and 20 of them share an exact plan name with a 2027 plan that carries a different ID. Both patterns are what a consolidation can look like. Neither proves one. The letter does.

How many 2026 plans on the First Coast are not in the 2027 file?

We took every Medicare Advantage row in the CMS CY2026 landscape file (the March 2026 release) and the CY2027 file (the September 2026 release) for each county, and matched them on contract ID, plan ID and segment ID. A 2026 plan with no match in the same county in 2027 counts as missing; a 2027 plan with no 2026 match counts as new. The counts include plans with and without drug coverage and special needs plans, because a non-renewal letter can come from any of them. Stand-alone Part D plans are not in these files.

Because many plans are offered in several counties, the bottom row counts listings rather than distinct plans. De-duplicated across the five counties, 185 distinct plans appear in 2026 and 171 in 2027; 46 of the 2026 plans are missing from at least one county in which they were offered, and 28 plans are new. Four of those 46 still exist in 2027 in another of these counties, which is what a service area reduction looks like in the data.

One more count, kept as a number on purpose. In Duval, Clay and Broward, one parent organisation that offered plans in 2026 has no Medicare Advantage plans in the 2027 file for that county at all. In St. Johns and Nassau, every parent organisation present in 2026 is still present in 2027. We are not naming carriers or quoting their premiums here; the county pages linked below carry the full 2027 plan lists.

Two things stand out. Special needs plans make up a little over half the missing listings across the five counties, and most of those are dual-eligible plans (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid; in Broward they are 20 of the 29. And Nassau moved least, with as many new plans as missing ones. If you are in Fernandina Beach and got a letter, you are in the smaller group, but your options are no thinner for it. Our county reviews for Duval and Broward give the wider market picture.

What happens if you do nothing?

Your current plan keeps paying claims through 31 December 2026. On 1 January 2027, if you have not joined anything else, Medicare.gov is direct about the result: “You’ll be enrolled in Original Medicare if you don’t join another Medicare Advantage Plan before your current plan ends.” You will not be left with no Medicare. Your Part A and Part B continue, and your Medicare card works with any doctor or hospital in the country that accepts Medicare.

What you lose by default is everything the private plan was adding. Original Medicare includes Part A and Part B; drug coverage is something you add. Medicare.gov puts it this way: “If you chose Original Medicare and want to add drug coverage, you can join a separate Medicare drug plan.” If your 2026 plan included drugs and you do nothing, you start 2027 with no drug coverage at all. You also start it without a supplement, which means Part B’s usual 20% coinsurance with no annual cap, and without any dental, vision or hearing extras the plan bundled in.

Doing nothing is not a disaster on 1 January. It becomes expensive over the following weeks, at the pharmacy counter and on the Part D penalty clock described below.

Which enrollment windows are open to you, and what are the dates?

Two windows overlap for anyone holding a genuine non-renewal letter, and together they run from mid-October 2026 to the end of February 2027. The first is the window everyone gets. The second belongs to you because your plan is leaving.

Medicare.gov states the special window in one line: “Between December 8 and the last day in February of the following year.” CMS’s enrollment guidance spells out the start dates. Requests received from 8 to 31 December take effect 1 January; requests received in January take effect 1 February; requests received in February take effect 1 March. Anything after 1 January leaves a gap between your old plan ending and your new one starting, which is the reason to decide in the Annual Enrollment Period if you can.

There is a separate Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period each year from 1 January to 31 March, but it is for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan. If you are defaulted to Original Medicare on 1 January, the non-renewal window is the one you use. Our short answer on when you can switch Medicare Advantage plans sets the windows side by side, and the full calendar is in our guide to Medicare enrollment periods.

Your Medigap guaranteed-issue right: the one people miss

Here is the hard thing about Florida: outside a few protected situations, a Medicare Supplement insurer can ask you health questions and decline you. Florida has no birthday rule, and we walk through exactly when underwriting applies in our post on Medigap denials in Florida. A plan leaving Medicare is one of the protected situations. For many people, it is the only one they will get after their first year on Medicare.

Medicare.gov lists two federal triggers that apply here: “My Medicare Advantage Plan is leaving Medicare” and “My Medicare Advantage Plan will no longer cover where I live.” If you are switching to Original Medicare, it says you can buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L sold by an insurer in your state. It gives the timing too: you can apply as early as 60 days before your Medicare Advantage coverage ends, and no more than 63 days after it ends. It adds that your rights may last an extra 12 months in certain circumstances, and that its answers cover federal rights only.

Florida’s own document confirms it. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s 2026 Medigap FAQ lists, as a guaranteed-issue situation, “Your Medicare Advantage Plan coverage ends because the plan is leaving the Medicare program or stops giving care in your area,” and says you must apply between the date you receive notice and no later than 63 calendar days after your coverage ends. It answers the question directly in its own words: if a plan withdraws from your county, or you do not want another Medicare Advantage plan, you are eligible for a Medicare Supplement policy on a guaranteed issue basis.

Run the dates for a plan ending 31 December 2026. Sixty days before is 1 November 2026, and by our count 63 days after is 4 March 2027. That is a deadline you do not want to test. Apply in November or early December so the policy can start on 1 January, with no month in which you have Original Medicare and no supplement behind it. If you already know which plan letters you are choosing between, our Medigap cost comparison calculator puts the premium and the out-of-pocket exposure in one place.

Two limits. The right is for people going back to Original Medicare; join another Medicare Advantage plan and you are not buying a supplement. And it is tied to the non-renewal, not to a consolidation, which is why the letter matters. If you are not sure which situation you are in, our answer on the Medigap open enrollment period explains how this right differs from the six-month window you got at 65.

Why keeping drug coverage matters, even if you take no drugs

The Part D late enrollment penalty is triggered by a gap, not by age. Medicare.gov says it applies if you “go 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage,” and that you pay “an extra 1% for each month (that’s 12% a year),” calculated on the national base beneficiary premium, “for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage, even if you switch plans.” For 2027, CMS has set that base premium at $41.33 a month, up from $38.99 in 2026.

Now apply it to a plan that ends on 31 December 2026. If you join a stand-alone drug plan or a new Medicare Advantage plan with drugs before 31 December, coverage starts 1 January and there is no gap. If you wait and enrol in February under the special window, coverage starts 1 March, and by our count the gap from 1 January to 28 February 2027 is 59 days. That is under 63, but it is close enough that a delayed application or a mailing problem could push you over. Do not plan around the edge of a penalty rule.

Every Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage in the five counties’ 2027 landscape files carries the same $2,400 annual out-of-pocket threshold, up from $2,100 in 2026, and the highest drug deductible on any of them is $700. If you want to see what a gap would cost you for life, our Part D late enrollment penalty calculator runs it with the 2027 base premium. For a market view of the stand-alone drug plans you could pair with Original Medicare, see our review of Florida’s Part D plans.

Which way should you go: another plan, or back to Original Medicare?

There are three realistic paths, and none of them is right for everyone. A new Medicare Advantage plan keeps the structure you know: one card, a network, a yearly cap on in-network costs, often a $0 premium. Original Medicare with a Medigap policy and a Part D plan trades a monthly premium for freedom to use any provider that takes Medicare and much more predictable costs. Original Medicare with only a Part D plan costs least on paper and leaves the 20% with no ceiling, which tends to suit very few people.

What makes this year different for you is the guaranteed-issue right. Most people in Medicare Advantage cannot move to a supplement without health questions; you can, for a few weeks. If your health has changed since you first enrolled, that is worth weighing seriously, even if you end up staying in Medicare Advantage. We set out the trade-offs in our Medicare Advantage versus Supplement guide and in our post on switching from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare.

A step-by-step plan for the next ten weeks

Do these in order. Most of the work is in the first three steps, and all of it can be done before Thanksgiving.

1. Read the letter for one wordIs it a Plan Non-Renewal Notice, or an Annual Notice of Change saying you will be moved into another plan? A non-renewal gives you the special window and the Medigap right. A consolidation does not. If the wording is unclear, call the plan and ask which it is, and ask for the answer in writing.
2. Write down three datesYour plan’s last day of coverage (usually 31 December 2026). Seven December, the end of the Annual Enrollment Period. And 63 days after your coverage ends, the outer edge of your Medigap guaranteed-issue right. Put them on the fridge.
3. List your doctors and your drugsEvery doctor, with the practice name, and every prescription with the exact dose. This list is what you compare plans against, not the premium.
4. Price the supplement route while it is guaranteedGet Medigap quotes for the plan letters you are allowed under the guaranteed-issue right. Even if you expect to stay in Medicare Advantage, know the number. Use the Medigap cost comparison calculator to set it against a Medicare Advantage maximum out-of-pocket.
5. Compare 2027 Medicare Advantage plans on your listsUse Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder from 15 October. Check each doctor and each drug for the 2027 plan year, and note each plan’s in-network maximum out-of-pocket.
6. Choose, and enrol before 7 December if you canAn Annual Enrollment Period choice starts 1 January with no gap. If you go the Medigap route, apply for the supplement and a Part D plan at the same time, with copies of the non-renewal letter ready.
7. If you miss 7 December, use the special window in DecemberRequests received between 8 and 31 December still start 1 January. Waiting until January or February creates a gap in drug coverage and in any plan coverage.
8. Check the first statement in JanuaryMake sure your new card arrived, your pharmacy has the new plan on file, and nothing from the old plan is still being billed. Then get a second opinion from someone with nothing to sell: 1-800-MEDICARE, or Florida’s free counselling programme SHINE on 1-800-963-5337.

Bring your current plan and your prescription list; we’ll do the comparison with you.

Before and after: one Orange Park household, on paper

Meet Carol, 71, in Orange Park. She is invented, and the table below applies the published rules to her invented situation. No carrier is named and no premium is quoted. In the before column, Carol put the October letter in a drawer, assumed she would be “moved into something”, and found out at the pharmacy on 2 January that she had no drug plan. In the after column she read the letter for the word non-renewal, priced a supplement under the guaranteed-issue right, and enrolled before 7 December.

What about special needs plans and Extra Help?

Across the five counties, 45 of the 84 missing listings are special needs plans, most of them for people with both Medicare and Medicaid. If that is you, the same non-renewal Special Enrollment Period applies, and the federal rule’s 2 October dating requirement does not, so your letter may carry a different date.

If you split the year between Florida and Georgia or Texas, the federal rights in this article travel with you; state Medigap add-ons do not. Each state’s insurance department sets its own extras, so the Florida-specific protections above apply to a policy issued in Florida.

Where to get help that has nothing to sell you

Medicare.gov is the official site, and its Plan Finder shows every 2027 plan at your address. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) can confirm which Special Enrollment Period applies to you. Florida’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is SHINE, on 1-800-963-5337, run by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs with trained volunteer counsellors no carrier pays.

McDowell Business Resources is an independent agency, not an insurance carrier, and we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government, the federal Medicare program or CMS. We do not offer every plan available in your area, and the information we give is limited to the plans we do offer. The steps above work whether or not you ever call us.

How we help when a plan leaves the First Coast

Send us the plan name from your letter and we’ll tell you whether it is a non-renewal or a consolidation, and what that means for your rights. Then we run your doctors and drugs against every 2027 plan we represent at your address, and price the Medigap plan letters the guaranteed-issue right allows, so you can see both routes on the same page before 7 December. We keep copies of the paperwork, because the withdrawal notice is your proof.

We work across Duval County, Orange Park and Clay County, St. Augustine and St. Johns County, Fernandina Beach and Nassau County and Broward County, and the service outline is on our Medicare page. There’s no cost and no pressure — book a free consultation and we’ll walk through it together.

What you get out of acting in October

You choose your 2027 coverage instead of receiving it by default. You keep drug coverage continuous, so the penalty clock never starts. And you get one clean look at a Medicare Supplement without health questions, a door that does not open often in Florida, before deciding whether to walk through it.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs 15 October to 7 December 2026, and the non-renewal window carries on to the end of February 2027. That is the calendar. The letter is your proof. Whatever you decide, decide it on the numbers. If you want help getting to them, we’re here.