Grand Junction · Plan changes for 2027
My Medicare Advantage Plan Is Ending. What Do I Do?
First: you are not losing Medicare. You are replacing one plan, on a schedule that is already set — and the people who come through this well are the ones who read the letter in October instead of January.
A Medicare Advantage plan is a private contract that gets renewed — or does not — one year at a time. When a carrier decides not to offer a plan in Mesa County for 2027, that plan ends on December 31, 2026, and everything else stays where it was: your Part A and Part B, your doctors, your hospital, your right to coverage. What you owe the situation is one decision before December 7, 2026. Below is the whole thing — how to tell a discontinuation from an ordinary change, the four doors open to you, the dates, and the one default that quietly costs the most.
How do I know my plan is actually being discontinued?
Two different envelopes land each fall and they are easy to confuse. The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) is what a continuing plan sends: next year's premium, copays, drug tiers and network, all in one booklet (Medicare.gov explains the mailing). A non-renewal notice is different — it says the plan will not be offered where you live next year, and it is the one that starts a clock (Medicare.gov describes what that notice means and the rights it carries).
Read the ANOC even if your plan survives. Every fall we sit with people whose plan continued but whose insulin moved a tier or whose cardiologist left the network — a change they would have caught in October for free.
What are my four options for January 1?
| Door | What it gives you | What to check before you pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Another Medicare Advantage plan | A replacement plan with its own network, drug list and out-of-pocket maximum | Each doctor in that plan's 2027 directory, at your location; every prescription on its formulary and tier |
| Original Medicare + a Part D plan | Any provider in the country who accepts Medicare, with drug coverage attached | Your drug list against the Part D plan, and that you understand there is no out-of-pocket cap on Parts A and B |
| Original Medicare + Part D + Medigap | The same provider freedom, with a supplement covering much of what Medicare leaves | Your guaranteed-issue window — generally 63 days — and the monthly premium |
| Do nothing | Original Medicare on January 1, with no drug plan and no out-of-pocket maximum | Whether you can absorb an uncapped year and a possible Part D late enrollment penalty later |
For scale, today's Mesa County shelf has 16 Medicare Advantage drug plans from 5 carriers, 8 of them PPOs, per the official CMS CY2026 landscape file. The 2027 shelf publishes in late September — which is why nobody, including us, can responsibly tell you in early September which specific plan to move to. What you can do now is get ready to decide quickly when it does.
What is the actual calendar?
| When | What happens | |
|---|---|---|
| Late September 2026 | CMS publishes the 2027 plan landscape — the first county-by-county look at which plans exist next year. | Watch |
| By early October 2026 | Your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) arrives. A plan that will not be offered in 2027 sends a separate non-renewal letter. | Read it |
| October 15, 2026 – December 7, 2026 | Annual Enrollment Period. Choose your 2027 coverage here and it starts January 1 — the calm path. | Act |
| December 8 – last day of February 2027 | Special Enrollment Period for members of a non-renewed plan, per Medicare.gov — the safety net, not the plan. | Backstop |
| Within 63 days of coverage ending | Guaranteed-issue window to buy a Medigap policy with no health questions, if you return to Original Medicare. | Door |
| If you do nothing | January 1 you are in Original Medicare with no drug plan and no out-of-pocket maximum. Doing nothing is a choice. | Risk |
The row people lean on too hard is the December 8 – February Special Enrollment Period. It is real and it is useful, but a change made in January generally starts the following month — so it can leave you a stretch with no network and no drug coverage. Treat it as the backstop it is.
Why does the Medigap window matter more in Colorado?
Because Colorado has no annual "birthday rule" allowing a Medicare Supplement switch without health questions. Outside your initial window at 65, a guaranteed-issue event — like the plan you are on being discontinued — is one of the few doors into Medigap that does not run through underwriting. Federal rules generally give you 63 days after your coverage ends, and the plan letters you get this fall are the documentation. Medicare.gov lists exactly which situations qualify and which plan letters you can buy. If Medigap is something you have wondered about for years, this is the year the door is open — and it closes on a date, not on a feeling.
What should I do this month, in order?
- Make sure your plan has your current mailing address. Every right on this page starts with a letter reaching you.
- Write the list. Every doctor you see and the office location, your hospital preference, your pharmacy, and every prescription with its dose. One page. It is what you will measure plans against.
- Open the October mail the day it arrives and find out which letter you got.
- Check doctors and drugs before price. A cheaper plan that drops your specialist is not cheaper. Verify each name in the plan's 2027 directory, then call the office — Grand Valley front desks field that question all fall.
- Decide during AEP, October 15, 2026–December 7, 2026, so coverage starts clean on January 1.
If a doctor turns up in no network you like, confirm at Medicare Care Compare that they accept Medicare — if they do, the Original Medicare doors keep them available to you. Free one-on-one counseling is also available from Colorado SHIP, through the state Division of Insurance.
How we know all this: the Medicare On Main Data Desk frames every article with public data — here, Medicare.gov's published rules on plan non-renewal notices, the Annual Notice of Change, enrollment periods, Medigap guaranteed-issue rights and the Part D late enrollment penalty, plus the official CMS CY2026 landscape file for the Mesa County plan count (accessed July 2026). The 2027 plan lineup is not public until CMS releases it in late September, so nothing here names a 2027 plan or premium. This is education, not advice; confirm your plan, costs and eligibility with a licensed agent or Medicare.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my Medicare Advantage plan is discontinued?
You keep Medicare. A discontinued plan means the contract for that specific plan is not being renewed for the new year — Parts A and B are unaffected. You pick replacement coverage during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) for a January 1 start, and per Medicare.gov members of a non-renewed plan also get a Special Enrollment Period running December 8 through the last day of February. If you take no action at all, you are in Original Medicare on January 1 with no drug coverage and no out-of-pocket cap.
How do I know if my plan is ending or just changing?
Two different envelopes arrive each fall. The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) describes next year's costs, benefits, drug tiers and network for a plan that continues. A non-renewal notice says the plan will not be offered where you live next year. Only the second one forces a decision, but both are worth reading — a continuing plan can still change the drug tier or the network you depend on.
Can I buy a Medicare Supplement if my Advantage plan goes away?
Usually yes, without health questions. When a Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare or stops serving your area and you return to Original Medicare, federal guaranteed-issue rights let you buy certain Medigap policies sold in Colorado — generally within 63 days of your coverage ending. Colorado has no annual birthday-rule switching window, so for most people this is one of the few no-underwriting doors into Medigap. Keep the non-renewal letter; it is your proof of the right.
Do I have to do anything before December 7?
You do not have to, but it is the calm way. Enrolling during the Annual Enrollment Period means your 2027 coverage begins January 1 with no gap and no scramble. The December 8 – February Special Enrollment Period exists for people who miss it, but a January change usually starts coverage the following month, which can leave you a few weeks with no drug coverage and no network.
Will I still be able to see my doctor in Grand Junction?
Any provider who accepts Medicare will see you under Original Medicare, and most Grand Valley physicians participate in more than one Medicare Advantage network. What decides it is the plan you choose next: check each candidate plan's 2027 provider directory for each doctor at the office location where you actually see them, and call the billing desk to confirm which 2027 plans they expect to accept. Do that before you enroll, not after.
What if I lose drug coverage by accident?
That is the expensive mistake. If a discontinued Medicare Advantage plan included Part D and you land in Original Medicare with no drug plan, you have no prescription coverage — and going without creditable drug coverage for 63 days or more can add a permanent late enrollment penalty to your Part D premium later. If nothing else on this page gets done, make sure January 1 finds you with drug coverage of some kind.
Does Medicare On Main charge for help?
No. Brian Penner is an independent licensed Medicare advisor, paid by the carriers rather than by you, with an office at 627 24 1/2 Rd Ste H in Grand Junction — (970) 644-6954. We do not offer every plan available in your area, and we will say plainly when Medicare.gov's Plan Compare or Colorado SHIP is the better next stop.
Sources
- Medicare.gov: When your plan is no longer available in your area — what a non-renewal notice means and the rights it carries.
- Medicare.gov: Your plan's Annual Notice of Change — the fall mailing a continuing plan sends.
- Medicare.gov: Open Enrollment (Oct 15 – Dec 7) — the October 15 – December 7 window.
- Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods — the December 8 – end of February period for members of a non-renewed plan.
- Medicare.gov: When can I buy a Medigap policy? — guaranteed-issue Medigap rights and the 63-day window.
- Medicare.gov: Medicare drug coverage (Part D) costs — the late enrollment penalty — what a 63-day gap in creditable drug coverage costs later.
- Medicare.gov: How to avoid late enrollment penalties — how to keep the gap from opening in the first place.
- CMS CY2026 Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape — Mesa County CY2026 figures (16 plans, 5 carriers, 8 PPOs; accessed July 2026).
- Medicare Plan Compare (Medicare.gov) — the official tool listing every plan available in your county.
- Colorado Division of Insurance — consumer help (Colorado SHIP counseling) — free, unbiased counseling through the Colorado Division of Insurance.
