Are you playing checkers, or chess?
Thinking ahead to maximize your health plan's outcomes for the 2027 Medicare Advantage AEP — network shifts, Part D bids, war gaming, and what commission changes are really telling you.
Highlight reel — coming soon
A short cut of the session's sharpest moments plays right here once it's ready.
- Five AEP moves, unpacked: Part D reallocation, where-to-win, war gaming, network shifts, and commission signals.
- For each, where the real risk sits — and where we already have an answer.
- Live poll takeaways from the room, and a deck you can request to see it all in full.
Meet the speakers
Jim Politte
In the Medicare Advantage business since 2004, having worked with 50+ payer organizations.
Peter Rodes
Three decades in government-sponsored health plan business, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and HCSC.
Matt Feret
25+ years across Medicare Advantage and Part D distribution; author of the annual Prepare for Medicare.
Defend membership
Know which of your members are actually at risk before a competitor's move puts them there.
Grow where it's profitable
Where you have the right to win and the right economics — not just where volume is available.
Protect margin
"No margin, no members" — the theme every plan on the call agreed with, live.
The challenges every plan is facing this AEP
A preview of the session — and where we already have an answer.
What happens to your membership when a competitor exits your market?
We walked through a live teardown of a regional plan's exit from Medicare Advantage in one state — roughly 30,000 members — and modeled which carriers stand to inherit that membership based on provider network overlap alone. A national carrier disclosed a similar move in a recent earnings call, exiting service areas covering roughly 600,000 members for 2027. Neither is isolated.
There's a way to see this coming before it hits your enrollment numbers.
Know more →Is your Part D deductible strategy quietly costing you Star Ratings points?
We compared deductible strategies across major carriers' recent bids, and the pattern held: a deductible in front of a benefit measurably reduces adherence — and adherence drives a meaningful share of your Part D Star score. That trade-off matters more this cycle, with CMS still working through a Star Ratings recalculation following a legal challenge earlier this year.
We map that exact trade-off for plans before they file their bid.
Know more →What happens to your enrollment if a competitor moves first?
We ran a live, fully illustrative war-gaming scenario during the session — modeling how a single deductible change from one plan could shift several thousand members in a single county. That kind of move doesn't show up in a press release. It shows up in first-looks data, if you're set up to model it fast enough.
Scenarios like this can run in hours, not weeks, with the right data behind them.
Know more →What is a rising share of non-commissionable products actually telling you?
Carriers are increasingly using commissions as a behavior lever, not just a sales expense line — cutting or eliminating pay on specific products to steer where the field sells, and where it doesn't. Reading that signal early, alongside network and service-area moves, is what separates plans reacting on 10/1 from plans that already adjusted.
There's a way to track these signals as they happen, not after AEP starts.
Know more →What did the room really think?
A few of the questions we put to health plan leaders live — the full breakdown is in the deck.
See exactly how the room answered.
Request the full deck for the complete poll breakdown.Quick answers
What is Medicare Advantage war gaming?
Running competitor scenarios — a benefit change, a service area exit, a commission cut — through your own enrollment and margin model before it happens, using first-looks data instead of waiting for the official 10/1 release.
Why are Medicare Advantage carriers exiting service areas in 2026?
Margin protection. One national carrier disclosed 2027 service area reductions affecting roughly 600,000 members in a recent earnings call, and a regional health plan is exiting Medicare Advantage entirely after sustained underwriting losses. Both are part of a broader retrenchment toward profitable counties and products.
What's the difference between Network Intel and Product Intel at HealthWorks AI?
Network Intel analyzes provider network adequacy and disruption — who inherits membership when a competitor's network or service area changes. Product Intel compares benefit design, total plan value, and out-of-pocket cost against competitors, including the Star Ratings trade-offs baked into those choices.
How is the 2027 Medicare Advantage AEP shaping up so far?
Early signals point to one of the more disruptive AEPs in recent years: multiple carriers reducing service areas or exiting markets outright, continued use of commissions to steer distribution, and Star Ratings uncertainty following a CMS recalculation after a legal challenge. Plans that model these signals before 10/1 have the advantage.
Ready to see where you stand for 2027?
Bring your market, your network, and your bid — we'll show you what the data says before your competitors do.
Request the deck