NCH to Drop Cigna, Wellcare Advantage Plans in 2027

A Florida Hospital System Draws a Line on Medicare Advantage

Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) announced this week that it will stop accepting Cigna and Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans beginning in 2027, a move that will force affected patients in Southwest Florida to either switch insurers during open enrollment or seek care elsewhere 1. While the announcement is specific to one regional hospital system, it lands amid a broader wave of friction between hospitals and Medicare Advantage insurers nationwide, as providers increasingly balk at reimbursement rates, prior-authorization burdens and claim denials associated with private Medicare plans.

Part of a Bigger Pattern

The NCH decision is not an isolated event. Reporting has highlighted that Medicare Advantage enrollees can lose access to hospitals and physician networks mid-year, and that such disruptions are becoming more common as insurers and health systems renegotiate — or fail to renegotiate — contracts 3. For patients, this means the plan they signed up for in one year may no longer cover their preferred hospital in the next, adding a layer of uncertainty that traditional Medicare does not carry. Coverage of the 2027 Annual Enrollment Period underscores that this instability is compounding at the same time other structural changes are underway: Part D subsidy structures are shifting and Medicare Advantage payment formulas are being adjusted, both of which could alter premiums and out-of-pocket costs for millions of seniors 9.

Questions About Value

The timing is notable given emerging research questioning whether Medicare Advantage delivers on its promise of better care. A study focused on older adults with Type 2 diabetes found no meaningful improvement in health outcomes among those enrolled in Advantage plans compared with traditional Medicare 4. That finding feeds into a growing debate over whether the private plans' tighter networks and utilization controls — the same dynamics playing out in the NCH dispute — translate into cost savings for insurers without corresponding benefits for patients.

A New Entrant Complicates the Market

Even as some hospitals pull back from certain plans, the Medicare Advantage market is expanding its retail footprint. Costco is preparing to sell Medicare Advantage plans through a partnership with nonprofit insurer SCAN Group, initially in a limited number of states pending federal approval 258. NPR's coverage of the deal framed it as part of a wider trend of consumer brands entering the health insurance space, following retailers and membership clubs that have sought to bundle insurance products with everyday shopping 6. Meanwhile, existing carriers like Humana continue to market their own Advantage plans with varying benefits and network configurations, reflecting how crowded and fragmented the marketplace has become for seniors trying to compare options 7.

Why It Matters

Taken together, these developments illustrate a system under strain: hospitals cutting ties with insurers over payment disputes, new retail entrants chasing enrollment growth, and research raising doubts about whether the coverage model improves outcomes. For patients, employers watching healthcare costs, and policymakers eyeing Medicare's long-term finances, the NCH announcement is a localized symptom of national tensions over how Medicare Advantage plans balance cost, access and care quality.