Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is leaving the individual Medicare Advantage market. The insurer says it will not offer its individual Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans for the 2027 plan year, so Texans enrolled in them have to line up other coverage before their current plans end on December 31.
The change also reaches the company’s stand-alone MedicareRx drug plans and its Dual Care Plus plans for people with both Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare’s open enrollment season is already underway, and the choices these members make over the next six weeks decide what coverage they carry into January.
What Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas is dropping
The insurer’s website lists three products that will not continue in 2027, according to reporting by KERA: Blue Cross MedicareRx prescription drug plans, Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans and Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Dual Care Plus plans. Members were sent letters before October 2 laying out their options.
The company’s first statement spoke only of reviewing its Medicare products every year for “ongoing viability.” A day later it was explicit. In a statement reported by FOX 26 Houston, BCBSTX said it “will no longer offer individual or standard Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Plans for the 2027 plan year” and will keep selling Medicare Advantage plans to employers, municipalities and unions. Retirees covered through a former employer, a city or a union plan are therefore in a different position from people who bought a Blue Cross plan on their own, and the plan’s own notice is the document that settles which group a member is in.
The company has not published how many members are affected. KERA reported that about 28 percent of Medicare Advantage plans in North Texas are expected to disappear at the end of the year, which means many Texans will be shopping for replacements at the same time.
What the Blue Cross letter leaves open: The notice BCBSTX mailed before October 2 says which plan is ending, but not which 2027 replacement still covers a member’s own prescriptions. That drug-by-drug check is what the prescription-by-plan comparison in The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit is built for.
The December 7 deadline and the backup window
Medicare’s annual open enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7, and a plan chosen in that window starts January 1, 2027. That is the cleanest route for a departing Blue Cross member, because the new coverage begins the same day the old plan ends.
Members whose plan is not renewing also get a special enrollment period. According to Medicare.gov, when a Medicare Advantage or drug plan’s contract with Medicare is not renewed, its members can switch to a different Medicare plan between December 8 and the last day of February of the following year. For Blue Cross members, that window runs from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027.
The backup window is a safety net, not a strategy. A choice made in January or February takes effect after the Blue Cross plan has already ended, which can leave weeks without the coverage a member expected.
What happens to members who do nothing
Doing nothing does not leave a member without Medicare, but it can leave a member without drug coverage. Medicare.gov says people are enrolled in Original Medicare if they do not join another Medicare Advantage plan before their current plan ends. Original Medicare, made up of Part A hospital coverage and Part B medical coverage, does not include a Part D prescription drug benefit.
That gap is the costliest mistake available here. A member who lands in Original Medicare by default on January 1 would have to add a separate Part D plan to keep prescriptions covered, and the extra networks, copays and doctor rules that came with the Blue Cross plan would be gone. Members on regular medications should confirm that any replacement plan covers those drugs at the pharmacies they actually use.
Medigap rights for members who choose Original Medicare
Some departing members will decide to leave Medicare Advantage altogether. For them, a plan exit carries a protection that is otherwise hard to get. Medicare.gov’s guide to buying a Medigap policy says people switching to Original Medicare because their Medicare Advantage plan is leaving have the right to buy certain Medigap supplement policies sold in their state.
The timing rules are specific. An application can go in as early as 60 days before the Medicare Advantage coverage ends and no more than 63 days after it ends, and the Medigap policy cannot start until the old coverage stops. With Blue Cross coverage ending December 31, the 63-day mark falls on March 4, 2027. Medicare.gov notes that this right applies only to people who move to Original Medicare rather than joining another Medicare Advantage plan, and that states can offer more options than the federal rules require.
How the choices play out
Take a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage member who fills three prescriptions a month. If that member picks a new Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage by December 7, the new plan starts January 1 with no break. If the member instead returns to Original Medicare, a Medigap application can go in during November with a January 1 start date, and a stand-alone Part D plan can be chosen during open enrollment, keeping both medical and drug coverage continuous. Waiting until February still allows a switch, but January would pass on Original Medicare alone.
Medicare’s Plan Finder lets members enter their drugs and pharmacies and compare the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans offered in their ZIP code. Availability differs from county to county, so a plan a relative picked elsewhere in Texas may not be sold locally.
Free counseling is available through the Texas Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program, which helps people compare Medigap, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans and can be reached at 800-252-9240. Medicare answers questions at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). The letter BCBSTX mailed before October 2 identifies the exact plan that is ending and is worth having on hand for either call.
Replacing a Blue Cross plan before January
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas exit gives its individual members three paths: a new plan chosen by December 7, the special enrollment window that closes at the end of February, or Original Medicare with a Medigap application filed within 63 days of the old plan ending. Each path starts with weighing replacement options on premiums, covered drugs and doctors.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, along with the Medigap guaranteed-issue rights that apply when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves, with a call script.
Compare the replacement plans in The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against Medicare.gov, Texas Health and Human Services and the insurer’s published statements.
Nathaniel Cross focuses on retirement planning, employer benefits, and long-term income security. His writing covers pensions, social programs, investment vehicles, and strategies designed to protect financial independence later in life. At The Daily Overview, Nathaniel provides practical insight to help readers plan with confidence and foresight.
