By Marc Gilman
(800) 927-9326 |
Dental coverage, vision exams, gym memberships, grocery allowances — the extra benefits layered on top of Medicare Advantage plans are a big part of why half of Medicare’s 70 million beneficiaries have chosen MA over Original Medicare. Heading into 2027, there’s real industry signal that some of those extras are getting trimmed. The honest picture is more nuanced than “benefits are being slashed,” though — some categories are holding steady while others have already started shrinking, quietly, over the last couple of years.
Key Takeaways
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CMS finalized a 2.48% average payment rate increase for Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 — up from an initially proposed 0.09%, but still below what most experts say rising medical costs actually require, which is pushing insurers to look for savings.
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Core benefits — dental, vision, hearing, and fitness — have stayed remarkably stable through 2026 and aren’t showing the same erosion as other extras.
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Discretionary benefits like over-the-counter allowances, meal benefits, transportation, and bathroom safety devices have already declined meaningfully from a 2023 peak — this trend is documented, not just predicted.
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Newer social-needs benefits (food and produce allowances, housing support) are overwhelmingly concentrated in Special Needs Plans, not standard individual Medicare Advantage plans — most enrollees in a regular plan don’t actually have access to them.
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The Part B premium “giveback” that shows up in a lot of marketing is real for some enrollees, but nearly 4 in 10 of those who have it get less than $10 a month off.
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Watch for your plan’s Annual Notice of Change by September 30, 2026 — that’s where you’ll see exactly what’s changing for your specific plan in 2027.
Why Are Extra Benefits at Risk for 2027?
The mechanics come down to money. CMS finalized a 2.48% average payment rate increase for Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 — a meaningful jump from the 0.09% initially proposed, after industry pushback, but most experts agree it’s still below the pace of rising medical costs and utilization. That gap matters because Medicare Advantage plans fund their extra benefits largely through “rebate” dollars — the difference between what a plan estimates it costs to cover basic Medicare services and the maximum the federal government will pay in that area. When costs rise faster than payments, insurers generally respond by trimming the things that aren’t core medical coverage: supplemental extras, provider networks, or occasionally exiting unprofitable markets entirely.
Humana has already said publicly it will need to cut benefits for 2027. CVS/Aetna has said it’s prioritizing profit margins over membership growth this year. Not every expert expects this to be as disruptive as last year, though — one Oliver Wyman consultant who advises health plans described 2026 as a “doom and gloom” year of aggressive benefit cuts and market exits, with 2027 likely to see similar pressure but “maybe not at the same level of concern.”
Is This Already Happening, or Just a Prediction?
Both, honestly — and it’s worth separating the two. Real 2025-to-2026 data shows the erosion has already started for certain benefit categories: the share of Medicare Advantage enrollees with an over-the-counter allowance dropped from 79% to 68% in a single year, meal benefits fell from 70% to 65%, remote access technology from 49% to 43%, transportation assistance from 28% to 22%, and bathroom safety devices from 32% to 21% — all down from a peak in 2023. That’s documented history, not speculation about 2027.
Which Benefits Are Most at Risk — and Which Are Holding Steady?
This is where a more balanced picture matters. According to KFF’s analysis of CMS plan data, the core benefits most people actually care about — dental (98% of enrollees), vision (99%+), hearing (95%), and fitness (91%) — have remained essentially stable through 2026, without the same decline showing up in the discretionary extras. KFF’s own conclusion is worth quoting directly: enrollees “have not experienced a substantial loss in access to supplemental benefits, particularly dental, vision, hearing, and fitness benefits.” The benefits getting quietly trimmed are the newer, more discretionary ones — OTC cards, meal delivery, transportation, and home-safety add-ons — not the ones most likely to factor into someone’s initial decision to choose a plan.
Are “Extra Benefits” Really Available to Everyone?
Not evenly, and this is a distinction worth understanding before assuming a benefit applies to you. Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) — things like food and produce allowances, housing and utility support, and non-medical transportation — are heavily concentrated in Special Needs Plans, which serve people with significant care needs or dual Medicare/Medicaid eligibility. Food and produce benefits reach 93% of Special Needs Plan enrollees, but only 8% of people in a standard individual Medicare Advantage plan. If you’re not in a Special Needs Plan, most of the “extra benefits beyond healthcare” you might read about in the news likely don’t apply to your specific plan.
Is the Part B Premium “Giveback” as Good as It Sounds?
It’s real, but often smaller than the marketing implies. About one-third of individual Medicare Advantage enrollees are in a plan that reduces their Part B premium, sometimes advertised as “money back in your Social Security check.” Of those enrollees, though, nearly 4 in 10 get less than $10 a month off a $202.90 monthly premium. It’s a genuine benefit, but worth checking the actual dollar amount rather than assuming it’s substantial.
What About Telehealth?
Good news here, at least for now: Medicare’s expanded telehealth coverage — for both Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage — has been extended through December 31, 2027 under recent legislation. That’s a full two-year extension, though it’s worth remembering these flexibilities have lapsed briefly before (a government shutdown in October 2025 caused a short gap before telehealth coverage was retroactively restored) and remain temporary rather than permanent law. There’s bipartisan interest in making telehealth coverage permanent, but nothing has passed yet.
What Should You Watch For This Fall?
Your Medicare Advantage plan is required to send you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by September 30, 2026, detailing exactly what’s different about your plan for 2027 — premium, cost sharing, network, and supplemental benefits. This is the actual document that matters more than any national trend story, since benefit changes vary enormously by plan and carrier. It’s also worth knowing: if your specific plan exits your county entirely, that triggers a guaranteed-issue window letting you switch to a Medigap policy without medical underwriting — worth understanding if that situation applies to you.
CMS is also updating its Star Ratings methodology for 2027, shifting weight toward patient outcomes and member experience and away from administrative process measures. That’s a reasonable goal, but it means a plan that was highly rated under the old methodology could score differently under the new one — another reason not to auto-renew without checking.
Where Does Insurance Planning Fit In?
The national headlines about benefit cuts are directionally useful, but they can’t tell you what’s actually changing for your specific plan in your specific county. Gilman Agency can help you read your Annual Notice of Change carefully, compare it against other options in your area, and figure out whether a benefit reduction is significant enough to warrant switching plans during Annual Enrollment.
What To Do Next
Don’t assume your plan’s 2026 benefits will carry into 2027 unchanged, and don’t assume every “extra benefits” headline applies to your specific situation either. When your Annual Notice of Change arrives, read it carefully — that’s where the real answer is.
Call (800) 927-9326, or email to talk through your situation. TTY: 711.
By Marc Gilman, Gilman Agency
Sources: KFF, “Medicare Advantage in 2026: Premiums, Out-of-Pocket Limits, Supplemental Benefits, and Prior Authorization”; KFF, “What to Know About Medicare Coverage of Telehealth”; Reuters (via U.S. News), “Medicare Advantage Health Plans May Cut Extra Benefits in 2027”; Oliver Wyman, “Medicare Advantage Plan Economics Reset in 2027”; Forbes Advisor, “2027 Medicare Advantage Rate Increases: What Beneficiaries Should Expect”; AHIP/Wakely Consulting Group; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).
