Analysis of 2025 Medicare Advantage Plans: Humana, Aetna, United Health

For years, health insurers have battled to gain market share in the lucrative privatized Medicare program. Now the opposite is true. Some companies say they designed their 2025 plans with member dumping in mind.

Health insurance has always been cyclical — companies go all-in on certain lines of business when they’re profitable and exit when they’re not — but next year will mark a particularly drastic turning point for Medicare Advantage, the form of Medicare run by private companies that conclude contracts with the government. When insurers release their 2025 plans on October 1, there will likely be fewer choices and freebies.

“They don’t want these patients anymore,” said Jared Holz, a healthcare strategist at Mizuho Securities. “For a while, the question was how quickly you could grow Medicare because the business was going in the right direction. And now, because the trends are so unfavorable, half of this industry is making a conscious effort to lose members. We haven’t seen this in a long time.”