The news: The three largest Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers recently signaled plans to scale back their MA membership and plan offerings during earnings calls.

• UnitedHealth Group (29% MA market share, per KFF) will cut about 1 million, or about 10% of its MA members by dropping plans and exiting certain markets.
• Humana (17%) anticipates a decline of about 425,000, or approximately 7.5% of its MA members, through a similar approach of leaving less profitable markets.
• CVS Health/Aetna (12%) will withdraw MA prescription drug plans from 100 US counties in 2026.

Why it matters: MA plans were highly lucrative for private health insurers. For context, the government pays private health insurers to run MA plans, providing higher payments to plans that manage sicker patients.

However, private insurers are currently under intense scrutiny for their alleged “gaming" of the MA risk-adjustment system to turn a profit.

• Some of the insurers’ profits came from allegedly overbilling the government by exaggerating how sick their members were.
• For instance, WSJ investigative reporting earlier this year revealed that MA insurers diagnosed patients with conditions that triggered extra payments of $50 billion from 2019 to 2021, even though no doctor ever treated the diseases.
• And the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating UnitedHealth for potential civil and criminal wrongdoing related to its Medicare Advantage program.

Plus, the MA market has cooled down more recently, and we’ve seen insurers cut back on these plans, in turn. More members used expensive medical services that were postponed during the pandemic, such as elective surgeries. Insurers didn’t anticipate these utilization trends, while reimbursements from the government have tightened.

Key stats: The share of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in an MA plan has grown each year over the past decade, but is projected to drop from 50% in 2025 to 48% next year, per government data. About 1 million fewer people will enroll in MA plans in 2026.

What it means for Medicare marketers: The largest MA plans are cutting back on plans and exiting markets they deem unprofitable. It’s no longer about enrollment growth, but instead about improving margins. Many seniors who were lured by aggressive MA marketing promising extra benefits—and even perks like free pickleball paddles or golf clubs—must now find a new MA plan or switch to traditional Medicare.

Greater oversight and scrutiny of MA—including from public figures, such as John Oliver’s recent show segment slamming the program—could force marketers to be more transparent about plan offerings. The Medicare annual enrollment period is underway, offering Medicare marketers a chance to rebuild trust with seniors by providing online tools and live support to help them understand their options and switch plans if needed.

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