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Enrollment & timing

65 Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027 Have Hard Membership Caps That Could Close Before December 7

For the first time, CMS is letting Medicare Advantage plans set legally binding enrollment limits. Once a capped plan fills up mid-open enrollment, it closes to new applicants, and Medicare Plan Finder currently shows no warning.

By the Goodsurance editorial teamOctober 22, 2026

A new wrinkle in the 2027 Medicare Advantage market means that some plans could stop accepting new members before the annual enrollment period closes on December 7, 2026.

CMS formalized enrollment capacity limits in guidance issued August 25, 2026, allowing Medicare Advantage organizations to request hard membership caps as part of their plan bids. For 2027, 15 parent organizations in 11 states received approval to apply limits to a combined 65 plans. The participating carriers are primarily regional or provider-sponsored insurers; none of the large national Medicare Advantage companies are among the 15.

65 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 can stop taking new members mid-open enrollment. Medicare Plan Finder does not show whether a plan has a cap or how close it is to being full.

The caps vary considerably in size. The smallest capped plan closes once it reaches 410 members; the largest sets its ceiling above 56,000. A plan that already has an approved limit when open enrollment begins on October 15 cannot use that limit to remove existing members. New applicants are processed in the order they are received, and once the cap is reached, the plan closes to prospective enrollees until a vacancy opens through natural attrition.

A gap in consumer information makes the policy especially relevant for shoppers. Medicare Plan Finder, the federal comparison tool used to select plans during open enrollment, does not currently indicate whether a particular plan has a capacity limit or how close it is to that limit. A beneficiary in an affected state could research and select a plan that appears fully available, without knowing the plan may already be near or at its ceiling.

Open enrollment for 2027 Medicare coverage runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026, with all elected changes taking effect January 1, 2027.

In plain words

Some Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 have a limit on how many new people can join. When a plan reaches that limit, it stops taking new members, even if open enrollment is still going on. This year, 65 plans in 11 states have these caps. The federal website you use to compare Medicare plans does not tell you when a plan is close to filling up. Open enrollment runs through December 7.

Understand the basics first

Source: CMS
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