ConnectiCare is leaving Medicare altogether. The Connecticut insurer says all of its Medicare plans end December 31, 2026, and that it will not offer any as of January 1, 2027. Members who want coverage in place on that date have until December 7, the end of Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment, to move to another plan, according to Medicare.gov.
Which ConnectiCare Medicare plans are ending
The wording on ConnectiCare’s Medicare notice is blunt: “As of January 1, 2027, ConnectiCare will no longer offer Medicare plans. All Medicare plans will end December 31, 2026.” It describes the whole Medicare line, not one plan or one county, and points members to Medicare.gov, to 1-800-MEDICARE and to insurance brokers.
ConnectiCare’s 2026 Medicare Advantage lineup shows what that covers. Five plans are sold in every Connecticut county: Choice Plan 1, Choice Plan 2 (No RX), Choice Plan 3, Passage Plan 1 and Flex Plan 2. Choice Dual, a dual-eligible special needs plan, is also listed for all counties. Every plan on the list is an HMO with a point-of-service option.
Flex Plan 3 comes in two versions that split the state. The version with a $41 monthly premium covers Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex and Tolland counties. The $49 version covers Fairfield, New Haven, New London and Windham counties. Between them they reach all eight Connecticut counties.
A member of any of those plans, in any of those counties, is in the group whose coverage stops on December 31. The question is no longer whether a ConnectiCare plan will be available in 2027, because the insurer says none will, but which plan from another company will replace it.
ConnectiCare gives one end date for every plan, December 31, 2026, and no plan-by-plan schedule. Members of Choice Dual, the dual-eligible plan, are on the same date as everyone else, because the insurer’s notice makes no exception for any plan in its Medicare line.
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Why a Connecticut insurer is walking away
ConnectiCare is owned by Molina Healthcare. The Hartford Business Journal reported in March, in a clip carried by the Connecticut Hospital Association, that Molina planned to exit its Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage for the 2027 plan year. Molina told brokers in February, and members were not to hear until enrollment season began in October.
Connecticut brokers estimate the change will touch about 48,000 people, all 65 or older, though the report cites no official state count. Molina pointed to “underperformance” in its Part D business in its fourth-quarter earnings report and described a “strategic shift to focus on Dual Eligible products” in an email.
Jason Gutcheon, a partner at Professional Business Insurers in West Hartford, called the decision “rotten,” said his clients value ConnectiCare’s Part D plans, and questioned why Molina had not tried to sell them. He said low Medicare reimbursement rates are part of the reason. A Molina spokesperson said the company “is committed to Connecticut,” including ConnectiCare’s individual marketplace participation.
The sequence is hard on members. Brokers had the news in February, according to the report, while members were told to expect notice only once enrollment season began in October. The result is a decision squeezed into the weeks between that notice and December 7.
The December 7 deadline and what moves before it
Medicare.gov says the Open Enrollment Period runs October 15 to December 7, and that changes made in it take effect the following January. In that window a person can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, leave one, or add or drop drug coverage within one.
Medicare.gov adds that a person can move from a Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare, or from Original Medicare into an Advantage plan, and that someone with Original Medicare can enroll in, leave or change a Medicare drug plan. The plan must receive the request to join by December 7, Medicare.gov says.
With the window closing six weeks from today, the comparison tool is Medicare’s Plan Finder. ConnectiCare tells members to use Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or talk to an insurance broker. Members with questions about their current coverage can reach ConnectiCare at 1-800-224-2273.
Networks are the first thing to compare. ConnectiCare’s plans run on two networks: Choice members need no primary care provider and no referrals to see specialists, while Passage members must designate a primary care provider but need no referrals. A replacement plan can set different rules, so the doctors a member sees today are worth checking plan by plan.
Premiums are the second. In 2026 the Flex Plan 3 premium was $41 or $49 depending on the county, and the next plan will have its own price, drug list and network. Members who pick nothing are left holding coverage that the insurer has said stops at year’s end. The open question for a ConnectiCare member is which plan holds up on cost, drugs and doctors before the window shuts on December 7.
Where do ConnectiCare members land before December 7?
A member who lets December 7 pass is left with coverage that stops on December 31 and a replacement plan chosen in a hurry, with no check on whether the doctors are in network or the drugs are on the list.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors and a prescription-by-plan comparison. It also has a provider call script for asking a doctor’s office whether it takes a plan, and the Open Enrollment calendar.
Run replacement plans through the doctors-and-drugs calculator →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
