Newsroom · Mesa County · PERA retirees
PERACare Is Switching to Humana for 2027: What It Means in Grand Junction
Colorado PERA is replacing its UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans with Humana on January 1, moving current members over automatically — and adding a new Moda Health plan that sits alongside Original Medicare the way Plan G does, with no health questions. For a Mesa County retiree, that turns a yearly rubber stamp into a real decision with a November 19, 2026 deadline.
The bottom line
- UnitedHealthcare is out, Humana is in. PERA's own notice: the two UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans are "changing to Humana Medicare Advantage," and "current enrollees will automatically be enrolled in the corresponding Humana plan; no action is required."
- Automatic is not the same as unchanged. A new carrier means a new provider directory and a new drug list. Check St. Mary's, Community Hospital, your specialists and your bottles against Humana's group plan when the details post on October 1.
- There is a new third option. The Moda Health Medicare Companion Plan is "designed to work alongside Original Medicare similar to a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan G" — any doctor who takes Medicare, no network — and "no medical underwriting is required." It needs an enrollment form during Open Enrollment.
- Kaiser continues, and still does not reach Grand Junction. Its Colorado map shows three service areas — Northern, Central and Southern — all on the Front Range.
- This is not the Humana exit story. Humana's individual-market plan exits affect about 600,000 members nationally and have no county list yet; a PERA group plan runs under PERA's contract, not the county plan list.
- Two calendars. PERACare Open Enrollment is October 19, 2026 – November 19, 2026. Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period, for anyone leaving PERACare for an individual plan, is October 15, 2026 – December 7, 2026.
For years the PERACare decision in this valley has been a formality. A retired District 51 teacher, a county road-and-bridge foreman, a state employee who moved here for the peaches — they got the October packet, saw the same UnitedHealthcare plan they had last year, and put it in the drawer. This October the packet will have a different carrier's name on it, a plan design nobody here has seen before, and a question that has not been asked since they turned 65: do I actually want to be on a Medicare Advantage plan at all? The rest of this page is what PERA has said, what it has not said yet, and how a Mesa County household works through the three doors before November 19, 2026.
What did PERA announce for 2027?
Colorado PERA's "PERACare Changes for 2027" notice lays out a carrier change on both sides of 65. On the Medicare side, the two UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans — which PERA's program page still describes as "two national PPO plans with UnitedHealthcare," each combining Parts A and B with Part D — are "changing to Humana Medicare Advantage," with "medical and prescription drug coverage … administered by Humana." On the pre-Medicare side, Anthem replaces UMR, and the new Anthem Pathway PPO "will be available to all retirees residing in Colorado, expanding coverage beyond the 14 counties currently served by the UMR plan." Kaiser continues. Dental and vision carriers do not change.
| 2026 PERACare Medicare option | What happens for 2027 | Status |
|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage #1 and #2 | Replaced by Humana Medicare Advantage. PERA: "Medical and prescription drug coverage will be administered by Humana." Current enrollees are enrolled in the corresponding Humana plan automatically — "no action is required." | Changing |
| Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage (HMO) | Continues for 2027. Kaiser's own Colorado map shows three service areas — Northern, Central and Southern, the Front Range corridor from Fort Collins to Pueblo — and Mesa County is not in any of them, so this has never been a Grand Junction option. | Continues |
| Moda Health Medicare Companion Plan | New. "A group-sponsored plan designed to work alongside Original Medicare similar to a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan G." No medical underwriting. Requires an enrollment form during Open Enrollment. | New |
| Dental (Cigna, Delta) and vision (VSP) | No change for 2027. | Unchanged |
Sources: Colorado PERA — PERACare Changes for 2027 · Colorado PERA — Health Benefits (PERACare): Over Age 65 (Medicare) · Kaiser Permanente Colorado — service area map. Plan names, premiums, directories and drug lists for 2027 are posted by PERA on October 1 and are not stated here.
The sentence that matters most for a Grand Junction member is the one about doing nothing: "Current enrollees will automatically be enrolled in the corresponding Humana plan; no action is required." Nobody on a PERACare UnitedHealthcare plan will wake up on January 1 without coverage. That is the good news, and it is also the trap — because "no action required" reads like "nothing changed," and a great deal has.
Why "automatic" is not the same as "unchanged"
A Medicare Advantage plan is a contract with a carrier, and the network and the formulary belong to the carrier, not to PERA. When the carrier changes, both change. The plan design PERA negotiates — the deductible, the copays, the out-of-pocket maximum — may look nearly identical on paper, and PERA will publish the 2027 design on October 1. What no plan summary shows is whether the cardiologist you see at St. Mary's, the surgeon at Community Hospital, the clinic in Fruita, and the specialist you drive to Denver twice a year are in Humana's group-plan network, or whether your particular tier-3 drug sits on the same tier with the same prior-authorization rule.
Mesa County's health profile is why that check is not optional. CDC PLACES puts high blood pressure at 26.6% of adults here, diabetes at 8.1% and coronary heart disease at 5.2%. Each of those is a standing prescription and a specialist who has to still be in the picture on January 1. Our doctor-check post and formulary-check post were written for individual plans, and the method is exactly the same for a group plan: list first, directory second, phone call third.
The new door: Moda Health's Medicare Companion Plan
This is the part of the announcement that changes the shape of the decision. Until now, PERACare's Medicare side has been Medicare Advantage only — a group HMO or PPO that replaces Original Medicare. For 2027 PERA adds a plan it describes as "a group-sponsored plan designed to work alongside Original Medicare similar to a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan G," and it says two things that matter enormously in Colorado: "No medical underwriting is required to enroll in this plan," and "Members who wish to enroll in this plan must complete an enrollment form during Open Enrollment."
Read those against how the individual market works here. Colorado has no Medigap birthday rule and no annual Medigap open enrollment, so a retiree who has been on an Advantage plan since 65 and now wants a Supplement normally faces health questions a company can decline. A PERA retiree with a stent, a knee or an A1c that has drifted has effectively been locked into Advantage. A group plan that works like Plan G with no underwriting, offered inside PERACare where the subsidy lives, is a door that did not exist last October — and for a household that wants to see any doctor who accepts Medicare, in Grand Junction or Denver or Arizona in February, it is worth taking seriously.
What PERA has not said yet, and what the October packet has to answer before anyone signs the form:
- Prescriptions. Medigap Plan G does not cover drugs. PERA's announcement says drug coverage is administered by Humana for the Advantage plans; it does not say how prescriptions work under the Moda plan. If a separate Part D plan is required, that is a second enrollment on Medicare's own calendar — and CMS has already set the 2027 Part D base beneficiary premium at $41.33, up from $38.99.
- Part A. Some long-career PERA retirees never earned premium-free Part A, and PERACare's Advantage plans have included replacement Part A benefits. A plan that "works alongside Original Medicare" assumes Original Medicare is there. Ask directly whether the Moda plan carries the same replacement, and if not, what Part A would cost you.
- The subsidy. PERA's health care subsidy has applied to PERACare enrollment; confirm the subsidy amount and the net premium for the Moda plan, not just the Humana plan.
- The fine print that makes it "similar to" Plan G. Part B deductible, excess charges, foreign travel, and whether there is any network or referral requirement at all. "Similar to" is PERA's word, and it is worth knowing where the similarity stops.
Source: Colorado PERA — PERACare Changes for 2027 · Part D base premium: CMS, July 28, 2026. The Moda plan's benefits, premium and drug arrangement are not published at the time of writing and are not described here.
Is this the same Humana that is dropping plans?
Same company, different product, and it is worth being precise because the two stories will land in Mesa County mailboxes in the same month. On July 29, 2026 Humana told investors it expects its 2027 Medicare Advantage plan exits to affect about 600,000 members, and as of this writing it has published no county list — we covered what that could mean for the individual Humana plans sold in Mesa County, where Humana held five of the sixteen Advantage drug plans in 2026. Those are individual-market plans, filed county by county with CMS and listed on Medicare.gov.
A PERACare plan is different in kind. It is a group Medicare Advantage plan offered under PERA's contract with the carrier, available to PERA retirees wherever they live, and it does not appear on the county plan list. Its availability for 2027 is governed by that contract, and PERA has said its members are being enrolled. So an individual Humana member in Grand Junction and a PERACare member being moved to Humana are reading two unrelated letters this fall. The first should watch for a non-renewal notice in October; the second should watch for PERA's packet. Neither should assume the other's news applies to them.
Sources: Healthcare Dive — Humana to exit more Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 (July 29, 2026) · CMS CY2026 Medicare Advantage / Part D landscape file (cms.gov). No 2027 individual-market county exits are known or stated here.
The three doors for a Mesa County PERA retiree
| Door | What it means on the Western Slope | How you take it |
|---|---|---|
| Door 1 — Stay in PERACare, accept the Humana plan | The default. Same structure as today (a group Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage), a different carrier and a different network. PERA subsidy continues to apply. Check your doctors and drugs against Humana's group directory and formulary when they post October 1. | No form needed |
| Door 2 — Stay in PERACare, elect the Moda companion plan | You would be on Original Medicare with a group plan paying alongside it, Plan G-style — any doctor in the country who accepts Medicare, no network. No health questions. Enrollment form required. Confirm how drugs, Part A and the subsidy work before you sign. | Form during OE |
| Door 3 — Leave PERACare for the individual market | Mesa County had 16 individual Medicare Advantage drug plans from 5 carriers in 2026, 12 at $0 premium, plus Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan and, if you can get one, an individual Medigap policy. You give up the PERA subsidy while you are out; PERA's FAQ says you can re-enroll at a future Open Enrollment. | AEP window |
Sources: Colorado PERA — PERACare Changes for 2027 · Colorado PERA — PERACare FAQs · CMS CY2026 Medicare Advantage / Part D landscape file (cms.gov) (Mesa County MA-PD counts, 2026) · Medicare.gov — When can I buy a Medigap policy?.
Door 3 deserves one honest caution. Leaving PERACare for the individual market has always been reversible on PERA's side — its FAQ says you can cancel and re-enroll at a future Open Enrollment — but it has never been fully reversible on the individual side, because an individual Medigap policy in Colorado is an underwritten application outside a protected window. The Moda plan changes that calculus: if what you wanted from the individual market was Original Medicare plus a Supplement without health questions, Door 2 may now deliver it inside PERACare, subsidy included. If what you wanted was a $0-premium individual Advantage plan with extras, Door 3 is unchanged — Mesa County had 12 of 16 at $0 for 2026 — and the PERA subsidy is the number to weigh it against. Our PERACare vs. individual Medicare post walks the arithmetic; the Part B premium ($202.90 standard in 2026) and the $2,100 Part D out-of-pocket cap apply behind every door.
The calendar, on two clocks
| When | What happens | Whose |
|---|---|---|
| By September 30 | Annual Notice of Change from any individual Medicare plan you hold. PERACare members: watch for PERA's own mailing instead. | Letters |
| October 1 | PERA posts complete 2027 plan information, premiums, provider directories and drug lists online; mailed to enrolled retirees in early October. | PERA |
| October 15, 2026 | Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period opens — the window for the individual market (Advantage or Part D) if you leave PERACare. | Medicare |
| October 19, 2026 – November 19, 2026 | PERACare Open Enrollment. Do nothing and a UnitedHealthcare member lands in the corresponding Humana plan. Choose Moda, or cancel PERACare, here. | PERA |
| December 7, 2026 | Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period closes. An individual plan chosen by this date starts January 1. | Medicare |
| January 1, 2027 | 2027 coverage begins under whichever door you chose — or the automatic Humana enrollment if you chose none. | Start |
Sources: Colorado PERA — PERACare Changes for 2027 · Medicare.gov — Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7).
The two clocks overlap but they do not match. PERACare's window closes on November 19, 2026; Medicare's runs to December 7, 2026. A retiree who decides in late November to leave PERACare still has time to enroll in an individual plan for January 1 — but a retiree who decides on December 1 that they wanted the Moda plan after all has missed PERA's form by twelve days. Decide the structure first, then the plan, and do it in October while both windows are open.
What to do in October, in order
- Write the list before the packet arrives. Every doctor and the office location, every hospital you would use, every prescription and dose, your pharmacy. It is the ruler you measure all three doors with.
- Read PERA's October 1 posting for the Moda plan first. Drugs, Part A, subsidy, and what "similar to Plan G" leaves out. Those four answers decide whether Door 2 is real for you.
- Check the Humana group directory and formulary against the list. The plan is automatic; the network is not. Call the offices that matter and ask which 2027 plans they expect to accept.
- Price Door 3 with the subsidy included. Run your bottles through Plan Compare for the individual shelf, then put the PERACare net premium beside it. Sticker price without the subsidy is not a comparison.
- If the answer is Moda, file the form inside October 19, 2026 – November 19, 2026. No form means Humana. Keep a dated copy.
- If the answer is the individual market, enroll by December 7, 2026 and confirm with PERA how and when PERACare ends so there is no overlap and no gap.
- If the answer is Humana, do nothing — on purpose. Write down that you checked the doctors and the drugs, so next October's rubber stamp is an informed one.
What we can and cannot tell you in September
We can tell you what PERA has published: the carrier change, the automatic enrollment, the existence and the two defining sentences of the Moda plan, the pre-Medicare changes, and the dates. We can tell you how the individual market in Mesa County looked for 2026 from the CMS landscape file, and what federal Medicare costs and windows apply to everyone. We cannot tell you the 2027 PERACare premiums, the Humana group network, the Moda plan's benefits or drug arrangement, or which individual plans will be on the Mesa County shelf in 2027 — PERA posts the first three on October 1, and CMS releases the last with the 2027 plan data this fall. We will update this page when they do.
How we know all this: the Medicare On Main Data Desk frames every article with public data. The 2027 carrier changes — UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage #1 and #2 "changing to Humana Medicare Advantage," the "no action is required" automatic enrollment, the Moda Health Medicare Companion Plan's "similar to a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan G" and "no medical underwriting" language, the Anthem-for-UMR change and its 14-county expansion, Kaiser's continuation, the October 1 posting, and the October 19, 2026 – November 19, 2026 Open Enrollment — were read directly from Colorado PERA's "PERACare Changes for 2027" notice. The 2026 lineup ("two national PPO plans with UnitedHealthcare" and "one regional HMO plan with Kaiser Permanente of Colorado") and the cancel-and-re-enroll rule are from PERA's Over Age 65 program page and PERACare FAQs. Kaiser's Colorado service area is from Kaiser Permanente's own service-area map. Humana's ~600,000-member 2027 individual-market exit figure is from Healthcare Dive's July 29, 2026 report on the company's investor call. The $41.33 2027 Part D base beneficiary premium is from CMS's July 28, 2026 announcement; the $202.90 Part B premium and $2,100 Part D cap are 2026 CMS figures. Mesa County plan counts are from the official CMS CY2026 landscape file, category MA-PD; county chronic-condition prevalence is CDC PLACES County Data 2023. No 2027 premium, network, benefit or star rating for any PERACare or individual plan is stated on this page, because none has been published. We are not affiliated with Colorado PERA, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Moda Health, Anthem, Kaiser Permanente or any carrier named here, and naming one is neither endorsement nor criticism. This is education, not advice; confirm your plans, costs, subsidy and eligibility with PERA, a licensed agent, the Colorado Division of Insurance, or Medicare.gov.
Frequently asked questions
Is PERACare dropping UnitedHealthcare in 2027?
Yes. Colorado PERA's "PERACare Changes for 2027" notice says its two UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans are "changing to Humana Medicare Advantage," with medical and prescription drug coverage administered by Humana, and that "current enrollees will automatically be enrolled in the corresponding Humana plan; no action is required." UMR, the pre-Medicare administrator, is also leaving and is replaced by Anthem. Kaiser continues. Dental and vision are unchanged.
Do I have to do anything if I'm on a PERACare UnitedHealthcare plan?
Not to keep coverage — PERA says enrollment in the corresponding Humana plan is automatic. You do have to act if you want something else: the new Moda Health Medicare Companion Plan requires an enrollment form during PERACare Open Enrollment, October 19, 2026 through November 19, 2026, and leaving PERACare for an individual plan means enrolling in that plan during Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period, October 15, 2026 through December 7, 2026. Either way, read the October packet: a new carrier means a new provider directory and a new drug list, even when the plan design looks the same.
What is the Moda Health Medicare Companion Plan?
PERA describes it as "a group-sponsored plan designed to work alongside Original Medicare similar to a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) Plan G," and says "no medical underwriting is required to enroll in this plan." In plain terms, you would be on Original Medicare — any provider that accepts Medicare, no network — with the group plan paying much of what Medicare leaves, the way Plan G does. PERA's announcement does not say whether prescription coverage is included or how the PERA subsidy applies to it; those are the first two questions to answer from the October materials.
Isn't Humana the company that's dropping Medicare Advantage plans?
Humana told investors on July 29, 2026 that it expects its 2027 plan exits to affect about 600,000 members in the individual market, and it has not published a county list. That is a separate product from a PERA-sponsored group plan. A group Medicare Advantage plan is offered under PERA's contract with the carrier, not under the county-by-county plan list you see on Medicare.gov, and PERA has said its members will be enrolled automatically. Individual Humana members in Mesa County should watch their October mail; PERACare members should watch PERA's.
Can I leave PERACare, buy an individual plan, and come back later?
PERA's own FAQ says a retiree can cancel PERACare and re-enroll during a future Open Enrollment or qualifying event, and the health care subsidy applies whenever you are enrolled. The asymmetry is on the individual side: Colorado has no Medigap birthday rule, so an individual Medicare Supplement is normally an underwritten application here. Whether the retirement of the UnitedHealthcare group plan gives you a federal guaranteed-issue right to an individual Medigap policy is a question to put to the Colorado Division of Insurance in writing before you count on it — Medicare.gov's rule is written for a plan that is leaving Medicare, and PERA is moving you to a replacement rather than ending your coverage.
Can Medicare On Main help me compare the PERACare options, and what does it cost?
Nothing. Brian Penner is an independent, licensed Medicare advisor in Grand Junction with more than 22 years in this business, paid by the carriers rather than by you. We are not affiliated with Colorado PERA and do not sell PERACare, which is exactly why the comparison is useful: bring the October packet, your doctor list and your prescription bottles, and we will put the Humana plan, the Moda plan and the individual market side by side for your household — and tell you plainly if staying put is the right answer.
Sources
- Colorado PERA — PERACare Changes for 2027 — the carrier changes, the automatic enrollment, the Moda plan, and the 2027 dates.
- Colorado PERA — Health Benefits (PERACare): Over Age 65 (Medicare) — the 2026 Medicare lineup.
- Colorado PERA — PERACare FAQs — cancelling and re-enrolling, and the subsidy.
- Kaiser Permanente Colorado — service area map — why Kaiser is not a Grand Junction option.
- Healthcare Dive — Humana to exit more Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 (July 29, 2026) — the individual-market exit figure and the absence of a county list.
- CMS — Medicare Part D 2027 national average monthly bid amount and base beneficiary premium (July 28, 2026) — the $41.33 2027 base beneficiary premium.
- CMS — 2026 Medicare Parts A & B premiums and deductibles — the $202.90 standard Part B premium.
- Medicare.gov — When can I buy a Medigap policy? — when an individual Medigap policy can be bought without health questions.
- Medicare.gov — Open Enrollment (October 15 – December 7) — Medicare's window for the individual market.
- CMS CY2026 Medicare Advantage / Part D landscape file (cms.gov) — Mesa County 2026 plan counts.
- CDC PLACES: Local Data for Better Health, County 2023 — Mesa County chronic-condition prevalence.
- Colorado Division of Insurance — help for consumers — free, unbiased counseling from the state.
