Medicare Advantage shopping season arrives with a dose of confusion and some political implications

Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall. That’s if their plan is even still available in 2025.

More than a million people will probably have to find new coverage as major insurers cut costs and pull back from markets for Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run version of the federal government’s coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and older.

Industry experts also predict some price increases for Medicare prescription drug plans as required coverage improvements kick in.

Voters will learn about the insurance changes just weeks before they pick the next president and as Democrat Kamala Harris campaigns on promises to lower health care costs. Early voting has already started in some states.

“This could be bad news for Vice President Harris. If that premium is going up, that’s a very obvious sign that you’re paying more," said Massey Whorley, an analyst for health care consulting company Avalere. «That has significant implications for how they’re viewing the performance of the current administration.»

Insurance agents say the distraction of the election adds another complication to an already challenging annual enrollment window that starts next month.

Insurers are pulling back from Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage plans will cover more than 35 million people next year, or around half of all people enrolled in Medicare, according to the federal government. Insurance agents say they expect more people than usual will have to find new coverage for 2025 because their insurer has either ended a plan or left their market.

The health insurer Humana expects more than half a million customers — about 10% of its total — to be affected as it pulls