36,000 Mainers to be dropped by cuts to private Medicare Advantage plans

By Elizabeth Walztoni, Bangor Daily News Staff

At least 36,000 Mainers will lose their Medicare Advantage plans in January as insurers cut offerings nationwide, according to new information collected by the state insurance bureau.

Aetna and Anthem are each discontinuing two but not all of their plans across Maine, and Martin’s Point Health Care is ending one plan statewide while scaling back two more in eastern and northern counties. 

Comprehensive information is not yet available from Humana or UnitedHealthcare, Bob Carey, superintendent of the state’s Bureau of Insurance, said. A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson told the Bangor Daily News that 100 residents would be affected by changes here, but members could switch to its other plans. 

People losing their coverage can transfer to another Advantage option or switch to a Medicare Supplement plan, also known as Medigap, and should keep their notification letters to make the process easier. 

Supplement plans cover the same services as original Medicare without extra benefits and are not limited to a provider network. Members will usually need to buy prescription drug, or Part D, plans separately, according to Carey.

While some plans will remain available in Maine, the data collected by the state begins to show the scope of changes ahead for people 65 or older who use them, and indicate that the eastern half of the state may be more affected. 

Insurers announced steeper cuts to Medicare Advantage offerings elsewhere in Northern New England earlier this month; some are set to pull out of New Hampshire and Vermont entirely in 2026. It comes at a time when residents already face uncertainty about their access to healthcare and insurance coverage in the region and as funding for traditional Medicare has recently been slashed at the federal level.

Medicare Advantage plans are an alternative to traditional Medicare that were marketed as an option to get more benefits such as dental, vision and prescription drug coverage at a lower price. They are offered by private insurers approved by the federal government and limited to a provider network for non-emergency visits.

About half of the Medicare-eligible population is enrolled in these plans nationwide, including roughly 212,000 Mainers, according to the health policy site KFF. They have grown in popularity over the last 20 years, but insurers are now reducing how many plans they offer, blaming higher costs, changing federal regulations, funding cuts and more people using them. 

Advantage plans are regulated federally and there isn’t a central source of information statewide, meaning the Maine Bureau of Insurance has to contact each provider individually, Carey said.

So far, the state has found Martin’s Point Health Care is cutting its Generations Advantage Value Plus plan statewide, affecting 20,185 people. 

It will also end its Generations Advantage Prime plan for 7,888 people in Aroostook,

Franklin, Hancock, Knox, Penobscot and Washington counties, along with its Generations Advantage Select plan for 352 Mainers in Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford,

Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties. 

Aetna is discontinuing its Medicare Value and Medicare Premier plans statewide, affecting 5,020 people, according to the bureau. 

Anthem will end its Anthem/MaineHealth Advantage Extra (HMO-POS) plan for 2,469 people and Anthem/MaineHealth Advantage Access (PPO) for 827 people.