Thousands of people have lost their Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage for failing to pay their 2026 Wellcare premium. In 2025, their Wellcare drug plan had no premium, and they were unaware of the premium increase. Some were out-of-state, escaping cold weather during the months that Wellcare sent them letters alerting them to the premium increase, reports Susan Jaffe for KFF Health News.
Insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans and Part D stand-alone drug plans are allowed to terminate people’s coverage for non-payment of premiums after two months. And, if they terminate coverage, people can’t sign up for new drug coverage until the Medicare Annual Open Enrollment Period, which doesn’t begin until October 7. Coverage does not begin until January 1.
Tens of thousands of people with Medicare in 32 states are enrolled in $0 premium Wellcare and other prescription drug plans. They too are at risk of being disenrolled if their Part D prescription drug insurer raises the premium and they don’t know they need to pay it. The risk is particularly serious because the vast majority of people with Medicare take at least one prescription drug and more than 30 million have at least four chronic conditions for which they take drugs.
Of course, people with private health insurance are at risk of losing coverage for any number of reasons. Insurers pull out of the marketplace when they deem it unprofitable, as many Medicare Advantage plans did last year. Or, insurers terminate provider contracts, forcing people who need care from certain specialists or hospitals and want continuity of care to disenroll. Or, insurers raise premiums to levels people cannot afford.
So long as private insurers are in charge of people’s health, people are at risk of losing their health care coverage and access to the care they need. Americans need guaranteed affordable health care, not health care coverage that disappears when people are not noticing.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- 2026: Medicare drug coverage and costs
- Insurers dump 1.5 million + Medicare Advantage enrollees
- Don’t believe Medicare Advantage plan provider directories
- Hospitals increasingly opt out of Medicare Advantage networks
- 2026: Programs that lower your costs if you have Medicare
