Is your 2020 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan still being offered in 2021?


What are non-renewing Medicare plans?

Each year, Medicare plans have the option of not renewing the plan's contract with Medicare.  When this happens, the Medicare plan can be discontinued across the country or in a specific service area (such as a state or ZIP code).


Why is your 2020 Medicare plan not offered in 2021?

Your 2020 Medicare plan may be discontinued (non-renewing) due to several different reasons:

• Plan Consolidation
  
  When multiple Medicare plans from one company are brought together into one plan, or a Medicare Part D plan from one company may be merged together with a Medicare Part D plan from another company; plan members will be automatically "crosswalked" to (merged into) a new 2021 Medicare plan.  The good news is that the members do not lose coverage, but are just moved to another plan.  You can click here to read more about Medicare plans that are "crosswalking" 1.5 million people from a 2020 Medicare plan to another 2021 Medicare plan.
  
  
• Service Area Reduction (SAR)
  
  Medicare plans have the option to discontinue their plan in specific service areas of the country.  The Medicare plan's affected service area may be an entire state, specific counties, or ZIP codes.  It is possible that plan members in some areas of the country will remain in the Medicare plan, but the plan will be discontinued in other areas.
  
  As noted above, in some cases, a discontinued plan will "crosswalk" plan members to a new Medicare plan, but, in other cases, the members of a discontinued plan will be without coverage next year if they do not select a new Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.  Remember, there is a Service Area Reduction Special Enrollment Period (SAR SEP) starting on December 8th and continuing through the end of February allowing you the possibility of enrolling in a new 2021 Medicare plan after the December 7th close of the annual Open Enrollment Period (AEP).
  
  
• Terminated Medicare Plans
  
  Sometimes an insurance company will choose to terminate a specific Medicare plan or it is possible that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will terminate an insurance company's contract and the Medicare plan will no longer be offered. All members of a terminated 2020 Medicare plan will need to choose a new Medicare plan or be without coverage in 2021.
  
  

How many 2020 plan members will lose coverage in 2021 due to non-renewing Medicare plans?

• Almost 1.3 million people are losing their coverage if they do not select a new Medicare plan.
  
  Approximately 1.11 million people are currently enrolled in 2020 Medicare Advantage plans that will be terminated in 2021 and an additional 162,600 people are enrolled in 18 non-renewing stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs). These plan members will NOT be crosswalked into another plan and will be without 2021 coverage if they do not actively enroll in a new Medicare Advantage or Medicare Part D plan.
  
  

How will you know that your Medicare plan is being discontinued?

When a plan is no longer being offered in 2021, existing Medicare plan members of a Medicare Part D plan will be notified in their Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter about the plan termination or consolidation - and be given the option to join another plan during the annual Open Enrollment Period.

Again, if current plan members do not join another Medicare plan, they may find themselves without 2021 Medicare plan coverage.


Need a faster way to see if your Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan is changing in 2021?

Our PDP-Compare and MA-Compare tools allow you to compare annual 2020/2021 changes in all stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans (PDPs) or Medicare Advantage plans (MAs or MAPDs) across the country showing changes in monthly premiums and plan design changes, as well as changes in co-payments or co-insurance rates for different drug tiers along with the most recent Medicare quality star ratings.

Both the PDP-Compare and MA-Compare also show the Medicare Part D plans or Medicare Advantage plans that will be merged, discontinued, or added in 2021.

More about the 2020 Medicare Advantage plan (MA and MAPD) plan terminations

• 370 Medicare Advantage plans will be discontinued in 2021 without crosswalking members to other plans.
  
  In total, 1,110,055 Medicare Advantage plan members in the 370 Medicare Advantage plans will need to select another 2021 Medicare plan or possibly be without Medicare plan coverage through 2021.
  

Bottom Line:  Many counties across the country will see significant changes in their Medicare Advantage plan landscape.  As an example of how Medicare Advantage plans can change on a local level,  Monroe County, PA will lose 11 of the 50 currently offered 2020 Medicare Advantage plans in 2021 (although, in the same Pennsylvania county, 7 new 2021 Medicare Advantage plans will be introduced).

The chart below highlights counties with the highest number of non-renewing Medicare Advantage plans.



Not sure where to begin with all this information?

Medicare beneficiaries can telephone Medicare at 1-800-633-4227, speak with a Medicare representative, and learn more about their 2021 Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plan options.