Here is what you’ll find in this week’s newsletter!

1. Important links 🔗 - the best articles we found this week about the Medicare Market along with links to Jared’s recent LinkedIn posts.

2. Deep Dive 📚 - 2026 MA, MAPD, Part D Landscape 🏞 - Part 1

3. Sponsor Snapshot 🚀 - brought to you by Modivcare

It’s only a 6 minute read, but it will make you 10x smarter.

DEEP DIVE 📚

2026 MA, MAPD, Part D Landscape 🏞 - Part 1

Last week, CMS released the Landscape file for the upcoming 2026 plan year for Medicare Advantage and Part D. They are expected to release the Crosswalk file any day now.

These publicly available files that are released every Fall hold a wealth of information, and you might feel like you need a crossing guard to help you cross over into the 2026 plan year. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

The Crosswalk file will give us all Contract and Plan combinations from the 2025 plan year and tell us if these plans are renewing, renewing with service area consolidation, expansions, or reductions, or terminating. It also introduces new plans for 2026.

The Landscape file contains information on all Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for 2026 including Contract, Plan, and Segment ID’s, State and County, Organization and Marketing names, plan type, SNP type, Part C and Part D premiums, and drug benefit information.

When combined, these Crosswalk and Landscape files tell us what the Medicare Advantage and Part D market will look like in the upcoming plan year compared to the previous year.

Today we will specifically be looking at the difference in distinct number of Contract and Plan combinations between the 2026, 2025, and 2024 files by:

• Plan Type (HMO, PPO, SNP, etc.) – Here’s a quick refresh on types of plans

• Parent Organization

• State

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Overall Look

First let’s look at the number of available plans for Non - Special Needs Plans (“Non SNPs”):

We can see that:

• The number of available HMO plans will decrease 7% 🔻 (-135) from 2025 to 2026, also decreasing 14% 🔻 (-302) from 2024

• The number of available PPO plans will decrease 12% 🔻 (-190) from 2025 to 2026, also decreasing 16% 🔻 (-275) from 2024

• The number of available Part D plans will decrease 31% 🔻 (-167) from 2025 to 2026, also decreasing 47% 🔻 (-319) from 2024

• MMP plans are sunsetting December 31, 2025 [Check out this deep dive to see how many enrollees are impacted]

 For Special Needs Plans (“SNPs”), the trend is different:

We can see that:

• The number of available D-SNP plans will increase 12% 🚀 (113) from 2025 to 2026, also increasing 21% 🚀 (177) from 2024

• The number of available C-SNP plans will increase 46% 🚀 (172) from 2025 to 2026, also increasing 76% 🚀 (237) from 2024

• The number of available I-SNP plans will decrease 4% 🔻 (-6) from 2025 to 2026, also decreasing 11% 🔻 (-19) from 2024

This points to the continued expansion of Special Needs plans in the market.

[Check out these deep dives for a look at enrollment trends in the D-SNP and C-SNP markets]

—

By Parent Organization

When looking at the TOP 10 Medicare Advantage Parent Organizations with the most enrollees as of September 2025, we can see that:

• The number of available MA plans (without Part D benefits) will decrease 6% 🔻 (-16)  in 2026

• The number of available MAPD plans (MA with Part D benefits) will decrease 10% 🔻 (-225) in 2026

• The number of available SNP plans will increase 11% 🚀 (102) in 2026

• Out of the 102 new SNP plans in 2026, Humana is adding 41 and CVS Health is adding 30

Enrollee Count Source: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Insights web app available to MMI+ subscribers

When looking at the TOP 6 Part D Parent Organizations with the most enrollees as of September 2025, we can see that:

• The number of available Part D plans will decrease 31% 🔻 (-167) in 2026

• Centene and Health Care Service Corporation (Cigna) account for the majority of Part D plan decreases

• Elevance Health withdrew all Part D plans from the market in 2026

Enrollee Count Source: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Insights web app available to MMI+ subscribers

—

By State

The overall number Medicare Advantage plans (including MA, MAPD, and SNP) will decrease 2% 🔻 (-119) nationally from 2025 to 2026. The map below breaks down the change by state. 

We can see that:

• Texas, Missouri, and Florida will see the largest increase in the number of available Medicare Advantage plans in 2026

• Minnesota, New York, Colorado, and Indiana will see the largest decrease in the number of available Medicare Advantage plans in 2026

In comparison, almost all states are seeing a decrease of 4 to 7 Part D plans in 2026. 

That’s all for now. Keep following us, as we will continue to dive into the Crosswalk and Landscape files over the coming weeks, providing more insight as we “cross” into AEP2026.

If you’re ready, here are some ways we can help you:

• Newsletter Sponsorship opportunities: Promote your product or services to leaders in the Medicare space. Let’s discuss. (link)

• Market Research: Reports that help you wrap your arms around the Senior focused insurance markets. (link)

• Consulting: We can help you develop new insurance products for the Medicare market, appraise your books of business, and keep you compliant. Let’s discuss. (link)