Medicare Advantage rate finalized at 2.48% for 2027
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has finalized a 2.48% average payment increase for Medicare Advantage plans in 2027, the Trump administration confirmed on Monday. The uplift amounts to more than $13 billion in aggregate additional payments to private insurers participating in the programme.
The outcome represents a meaningful improvement over CMS's earlier proposal, which had held rates roughly flat. That preliminary figure had weighed on managed-care valuations for months; Monday's finalization removed the overhang and triggered an immediate rally in the sector. Shares of health insurers surged in premarket trading on Tuesday as the market absorbed the decision.
UnitedHealth Group and Humana, the two largest Medicare Advantage operators by enrolment, were specifically cited as beneficiaries of the decision. CMS also finalized an overhaul of its Medicare Advantage star-ratings methodology, a separate but related change that will direct additional billions to insurers whose quality scores benefit from the revised framework, according to Healthcare Dive.
Medicare Advantage, the privately administered alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare, has become the dominant vehicle through which seniors access federal health coverage. Annual rate notices from CMS are among the most consequential regulatory events in the managed-care calendar, directly setting the revenue baseline for plans that cover tens of millions of beneficiaries.
