UnitedHealthcare’s AARP Medicare Advantage plan leaves Mendocino County Jan. 1

MENDOCINO CO., 10/21/26 — UnitedHealthcare is pulling its AARP Medicare Advantage plan out of Mendocino County on Jan. 1. After that, only one company will sell Medicare Advantage plans here: Imperial Health Plan of California.

Medicare Advantage plans are private insurance plans that people on Medicare can choose instead of Original Medicare, the government-run program.

Senior Advocacy Services, which runs the state’s free Medicare counseling program in Mendocino and Lake counties, starts a series of free talks on Medicare choices Oct. 22 in Boonville. The schedule of meetings is at the end of this story.

Am I in the plan that’s leaving?

The plan is called AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-0010 (HMO-POS). It had 1,441 Mendocino County members in October, according to federal enrollment data. Medicare’s 2027 plan list, released in September, no longer shows it in Mendocino or Lake counties.

If you’re a member, you should have received a letter dated Oct. 2. In a September notice to doctors, UnitedHealthcare said those letters tell members their “plan won’t be offered in their county for the coming year.”

Most people on Medicare here aren’t affected. Of the 24,382 people eligible for Medicare in Mendocino County, 2,631, or about 11%, were in a Medicare Advantage plan in October, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. About a third of those get their plan through a former employer or union. Kaiser Permanente doesn’t sell Medicare Advantage plans to the public in the county, according to Medicare’s plan lists. Everyone else uses Original Medicare.

What happens if I do nothing?

On Jan. 1 you go back to Original Medicare, the company’s notice says. You also lose your drug coverage. “If an affected member’s discontinued plan included prescription drug coverage, they’ll also lose Part D benefits in 2027,” the notice says. The AARP plan included drug coverage.

People who get Extra Help, the federal program that helps low-income people pay for prescriptions, are the exception. They’ll be put in a Medicare drug plan if they don’t pick one themselves, according to Medicare.gov.

How long do I have to decide?

Open enrollment runs through Dec. 7. Because their plan is leaving, AARP plan members get more time. They can join another Medicare Advantage plan through Feb. 28, 2027, according to UnitedHealthcare’s notice and federal rules.

What are my choices?

You can join one of Imperial’s plans, or you can go to Original Medicare and add a drug plan.

All four Medicare Advantage plans offered in Mendocino County for 2027 come from Imperial, an insurer based in Pasadena. Two are special-needs plans, open only to people with certain chronic conditions.

The other two have no monthly premium and four stars on Medicare’s plan finder:

The Imperial Dynamic Plan includes drug coverage and caps what you pay out of pocket for in-network care at $295 a year. It also cuts your Medicare Part B premium by $15 a month.

The Imperial Courage Plan has no drug coverage and caps out-of-pocket costs at $2,999. It cuts your Part B premium by $85 a month.

For comparison, the AARP plan cost $89 a month in 2026 and also had four stars.

In 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services fined Imperial $39,208 over how it handled coverage decisions, appeals and grievances, according to the agency’s penalty letter.

If you choose Original Medicare, federal law gives you a guaranteed right to buy a Medigap supplemental policy, with no health screening, for up to 63 days after your old coverage ends, according to Medicare’s Medigap guide. California law adds another 60 days after that.

Which hospitals take Imperial?

In Mendocino County, Imperial’s 2027 provider directory lists one hospital: Adventist Health Ukiah Valley.

The directory doesn’t list the hospitals in Willits or Fort Bragg. Imperial’s online provider search found no hospital within 30 miles of Fort Bragg. The directory also lists no hospital in Lake County or Santa Rosa.

What about Lake County?

Lake County has 1,063 members on the same UnitedHealthcare plan, and Medicare’s 2027 list shows no Medicare Advantage plan of any kind there for them to move to. Medicare’s online plan finder returns “No plans are available for your area” for a Lakeport ZIP code. Imperial doesn’t serve Lake County.

Nationally, UnitedHealth Group is leaving 228 counties for 2027, according to an analysis by KFF, a health policy research group.

Where can I get free help?

Call Senior Advocacy Services at 707-526-4108. The state’s Medicare counseling program, HICAP, also has a statewide line: 800-434-0222.

Senior Advocacy Services has scheduled free talks called Medicare Annual Choices and Changes:

• Boonville: Oct. 22, 1 p.m., Anderson Valley Senior Center, 14470 Highway 128.
• Fort Bragg: Oct. 23, 1 p.m., Redwood Coast Seniors, 490 N. Harold St.
• Point Arena: Oct. 24, 10 a.m., Coast Community Library, 225 Main St.
• Gualala: Oct. 26, 11 a.m., Mendonoma Health Alliance, 39251 Highway 1.
• Ukiah: Oct. 27, 1 p.m., Sun House, 170 Cleveland Lane.

Lake County sessions are Nov. 16 at the Middletown Senior Center and Nov. 17 at the Lakeport Senior Center.