Minnesotans in HealthPartners’ Journey Steady or Journey Stride Medicare Advantage plan are losing that coverage at the end of this year. HealthPartners is ending both PPO plans in every Minnesota county for 2027, so each member has to pick a different plan. The fall enrollment window runs from October 15 to December 7.
Two plans end everywhere, two end in seven counties
HealthPartners lists the endings in its 2027 Medicare enrollment notice, updated October 14. Journey Steady (PPO) and Journey Stride (PPO) end in all Minnesota counties. Journey Pace (PPO) and Journey Smart (PPO) also end, but only in Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Pope, Redwood, Renville and Swift counties.
Pace and Smart continue in 15 counties: Anoka, Benton, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Morrison, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Washington and Wright. That leaves a Twin Cities and central Minnesota footprint with two plans where there were four. Members in the seven dropped counties lose all four Journey options.
The insurer’s own plan page agrees. Its 2027 highlights for Minnesota, last updated October 2026, describe only the Pace and Smart PPOs. Steady and Stride no longer appear as 2027 choices.
HealthPartners also keeps two Wisconsin plans, Birch (PPO) and Cedar (PPO), in 12 Wisconsin counties: Brown, Calumet, Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca and Winnebago. Those do not change what a Minnesota member of Steady or Stride can buy. A member of a plan that is ending has no plan to stay in, so doing nothing is not a safe choice.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do. Bonus when you subscribe: our 2027 Medicare Plan-Change Checklist.
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What members of an ending plan must do
HealthPartners says anyone whose plan is ending will need to enroll in a new plan. Those members should receive an important notice and a phone message in October 2026, and a sign-in to the member account shows the current-year Evidence of Coverage. The insurer recommends enrolling as soon as a 2027 plan that meets the member’s needs turns up.
Enrolling in a new 2027 plan has been possible since October 15. Medicare.gov lists open enrollment as October 15 to December 7, and says coverage starts January 1 of the next year if the plan receives the request by December 7. Medicare’s Find a Medicare plan tool is the official place to compare the 2027 choices.
HealthPartners adds that people whose plans are ending may qualify for special enrollment periods that extend into early 2027. Medicare.gov describes a special enrollment period as one that varies and applies only to certain situations, such as losing or changing current coverage. Waiting for the later window is a risk, since a gap in the dates would leave a member without a plan on January 1.
The practical deadline is therefore December 7. A member who files by then gets a plan that starts with the new year, and a member who relies on an extension has to confirm eligibility first. The two dates are not interchangeable.
Staying with HealthPartners, or leaving
Members who like HealthPartners have one option inside the Journey line if they live in one of the 15 continuing counties, which is to move to Pace or Smart. HealthPartners warns that plans can close to new enrollment once they reach a government-approved limit. Current members who live in a plan’s 2027 service area are not affected by that limit, but a newcomer to the plan could be.
Anyone who would rather skip Medicare Advantage has another door open. HealthPartners says its Medicare Supplement plans, available in all Minnesota counties, remain open to all applications. A supplement works alongside Original Medicare, so it comes with a different set of costs and doctor rules than a PPO.
The notice does not list premiums, drug costs or doctor networks for the plans that remain. Those details sit in the plan documents and in Medicare’s plan finder, so a member comparing Pace or Smart with a rival plan has to pull the numbers from there.
Questions go to the insurer first. The HealthPartners sales team is at 844-363-8979 (TTY 711) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, and Member Services is at 866-233-8734 (TTY 711). A member who has a doctor or a prescription at stake should have that information in hand when calling.
A pullback across Minnesota
HealthPartners is not alone. MPR News reported on October 2 that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Medica and HealthPartners are all pulling back or restructuring Medicare Advantage plans, and that hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans will need new coverage for 2027. The insurers attribute the changes to higher drug and health care costs, according to the report.
The HealthPartners notice gives no member count for the four plans it is ending in part or in full. What it does give is the county list, which settles the question for any member: Steady and Stride end statewide, and Pace and Smart end in seven named counties.
That makes the first check simple. A member needs to read the name on the plan card and the county on the mailing address, then match them against the lists above. The harder checks come next, which are whether a regular doctor, a hospital and each prescription are covered under the plan that replaces it.
Is a Journey Steady or Journey Stride card in the wallet?
The cost of a wrong pick is concrete here. A member of an ending HealthPartners plan who files late or picks a plan that leaves out a regular doctor or a prescription can end up with coverage that does not fit on January 1, and the open enrollment window closes December 7.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit gives members a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, along with a provider call script and the Open Enrollment calendar. The calculator lets the written comparison of Pace, Smart, a supplement or another insurer’s plan sit in one place before the choice is made.
Compare 2027 plans with the Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit’s cost calculator →
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- 15 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
