Many counties across the country will see a reduction in the available 2019 Medicare Advantage plans

Updated October 14, 2019 with CMS revised landscape data.
As noted in our "More 2019 Medicare Advantage plan choices..." article, the total number of 2019 Medicare Advantage plans will increase across the country with 17% more Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2019.

However, when viewed in detail, many 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will be terminated or merged into other 2019 plans and many counties will see significant changes in their Medicare Advantage plan landscape.

As an example, the counties with the largest number of 2018 Medicare Advantage plans non-renewing (discontinued) in 2019 are located in Minnesota, including Cass County, MN where 32 of the 42 Medicare Advantage plans that are currently offered in 2018 will no longer be available.

Members of nine (9) Medicare Advantage plans will be automatically "crosswalked" to a different Medicare Advantage, while the members of the other 22 discontinued plans will need to select a new plan for 2019. On the positive side, nine (9) new Medicare Advantage plans will be introduced for a net total of 19 Medicare Advantage plans available in 2019 (as compared to 42 Medicare Advantage plans available in 2018).

The counties in the chart below will have the highest count non-renewing Medicare Advantage plans.

Counties with Largest Number of Non-Renewing Medicare Advantage Plans
County	Number of Non-Renewing Plans	*Number of Crosswalked Plans**
Becker County, MN	22	10
Cass County, MN	22	10
Clay County, MN	22	10
Crow Wing County, MN	22	10
Hubbard County, MN	22	10
Sherburne County, MN	21	10
Wright County, MN	21	10
Benton County, MN	20	10
Hennepin County, MN	20	10
Morrison County, MN	20	10

Note:*"Crosswalked" plans are 2018 Medicare plans whose members will be automatically moved to a different plan for 2019 as the 2018 Medicare plan will not be offered in 2019.

Bottom Line: Please check to be sure that your 2018 Medicare Advantage plan is being offered in 2019. When in doubt, please call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 and speak with a Medicare representative about Medicare plans that are available in your service area.

You can see more 2019 Medicare Part D plan changes using our MA-Compare tool found at: MA-Compare.com/2019 or Browse Medicare Advantage or Part D plans by state and county.