CCHF urges Congress to shift Medicare Advantage funding back to Original Medicare

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom is pressing Congress to rethink Medicare Advantage as major insurers cut coverage for hundreds of thousands of seniors and Medicare pays the plans more than Original Medicare would cost. The group says the instability, higher costs and narrower networks are leaving older Americans with less predictable access to care.

Why it matters: - Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom says Medicare Advantage is leaving seniors with less coverage stability while taxpayers pay more. - The group argues that moving federal dollars back to Original Medicare would give older Americans more predictable access to doctors and hospitals. - Rising Medicare Part B premiums also affect seniors in Original Medicare, even when they do not receive extra Medicare Advantage benefits.

What happened: - Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom called on Congress to restore what it describes as health security by shifting Medicare Advantage payments back to Original Medicare. - The group highlighted planned and recent coverage cuts by major insurers. - Humana will cancel plans affecting about 600,000 seniors in 2027, Chief Financial Officer Celeste Mellet said on the company’s July 29 second-quarter earnings call. - Humana dropped about 500,000 members heading into 2026 after leaving three states and 194 counties. - UnitedHealthcare exited Medicare Advantage plans covering more than 600,000 members heading into 2026, insurance division Chief Executive Officer Tim Noel said on the company’s second-quarter 2025 earnings call. - UnitedHealthcare told investors in January that it expected to lose 1.3 million members this year.

The details: - Medicare Advantage plans are estimated to receive 14% more in 2026 than the same seniors would cost in Original Medicare, equal to $76 billion, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s March 2026 report to Congress. - The estimate includes a record-high rebate averaging $2,660 per enrollee. - The rebate is an extra payment above what the plan bid to cover Medicare services. - The corporations project spending 8% of rebate dollars on administrative expenses and profit while exiting markets where returns fall short. - Federal law sets the Medicare Part B premium to cover 25% of Part B spending, and Medicare funds Medicare Advantage partly through Part B. - MedPAC estimates Part B premiums will be $11 billion higher in 2026, or about $175 per person. - That premium increase affects seniors in Original Medicare, who do not receive the extra benefits tied to Medicare Advantage payments. - CCHF says hospitals are also leaving Medicare Advantage networks, which can limit treatment options and force patients to travel farther for care. - In 2026, 25 health systems are dropping or narrowing Medicare Advantage contracts, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. - The Mayo Clinic left the networks of most UnitedHealthcare and Humana Medicare Advantage plans. - A JAMA study published in February 2026 found nearly 3 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, about one in 10, had to find other coverage in 2026 after plans exited the markets where they lived. - The study found rural seniors lost Medicare Advantage plans at twice the rate of urban seniors. - Vermont had the steepest disruption, with 92% of Medicare Advantage enrollees losing the plans they had chosen. - Twila Brase, CCHF president and co-founder, said Congress is paying health plans too much extra money for too little security. - Brase said Medicare is running out of money while 10,000 baby boomers enter the program every day expecting lifetime coverage.

Between the lines: - The criticism is not just about price. It is also about whether Medicare Advantage can reliably keep networks and benefits intact from year to year. - If more seniors leave Medicare Advantage, many may face a second hurdle in the Medigap market. - In most states, Medigap insurers can use medical underwriting to reject applicants based on health history, except where federal guaranteed-issue protections apply. - That makes a switch back to Original Medicare less simple for some older adults, even when their Medicare Advantage plan disappears.

What's next: - CCHF is urging seniors to read its free Medicare How-To Guide before annual enrollment opens on Oct. 15. - The group says Congress should redirect base payments, rebates and bonuses from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare. - Brase said seniors should have the right to leave Medicare Advantage and buy a lower-cost major medical indemnity policy that would not leave them without coverage each year.

The bottom line: - CCHF is using insurer pullbacks and higher federal payments to argue that Medicare Advantage is too unstable and too expensive to remain Medicare’s main growth path.