State agency 'very concerned' Minnesotans will be without full Medicare coverage

About 158,000 Minnesotans are looking for new Medicare options now that the local insurance company UCare is dropping its Medicare Advantage plan.

Medicare enrollment opened Oct. 15, and the change is causing Minnesotans to scramble for new, affordable medical insurance options.

Kelli Jo Greiner, a health care policy analyst for the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, said medical insurance companies are dropping Medicare Advantage plans because they are no longer as financially beneficial as they once were.

“It is possible that UCare could reenter the market,” Greiner said. “That wouldn't happen until 2027, but they could come back if the financial situation improves.”

Minnesota has one of the highest Medicare Advantage enrollment rates in the country. The program is a private option that administers Medicare benefits and generally offers lower out-of-pocket costs than traditional Medicare. The challenge, however, is that Medicare Advantage plan beneficiaries can only see medical providers within their plan’s network. That increases the strain on rural Medicare users, who may not have many provider options to begin with.

Now that UCare has canceled its Medicare Advantage program, users must choose a different option by Dec. 7 if they want coverage starting Jan. 1, 2026. Greiner’s biggest worry is that Minnesotans enrolled in a UCare Medicare Advantage plan will not act quickly and enroll with a new insurance provider before the deadline.

“We are very concerned,” said Greiner. “We are definitely encouraging people not to just let it go and do nothing.”

In the new year if beneficiaries don’t re-enroll, they will only be covered by original Medicare, which primarily covers hospital and physician bills but not prescription drugs. They would also have to pay copays, deductibles and coinsurance.

UCare users aren’t the only ones in a difficult situation this enrollment season. Several other Medicare Advantage providers have pulled out of multiple Minnesota ZIP codes, and Mayo Clinic announced last week it will participate with only two Medicare Advantage options: Medica and Blue Cross Blue Shield. On top of that, health insurance premiums in the state are rising sharply above the national average.

Greiner stressed that no one already enrolled in Medicare will lose their coverage entirely. But her colleagues at Minnesota Aging Pathways, part of the Minnesota Board on Aging, say shoppers are seeking help at record rates.

“We are experiencing the highest call volume we've ever seen in the history of our service, which began in 1993,” Greiner said. “We are getting about 2,000 phone calls a day, compared with 200 to 300, which is our average.”

Medicare shoppers can learn more about their enrollment options online or through the Minnesota Aging Pathways hotline at 800-333-2433.

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