UCare, one of the largest providers of privatized Medicare in Minnesota, is trimming its workforce and will not offer Medicare Advantage health plans used by thousands of Minnesota seniors in 2026 as it confronts financial challenges.
As of today, the Minneapolis-based health insurer has 158,000 Medicare Advantage (MA) members who will have to find a new provider next year if they want to stay in the privatized version of Medicare. UCare controls a 26% stake of Minnesota’s Medicare Advantage market.
Due to the coverage change, UCare will lay off 9% of its workforce, the nonprofit said Thursday. The cut amounts to an estimated 144 jobs, and is [the second](https://www.startribune.com/ucare-layoffs-hiring-freeze/601354678) confirmed round of layoffs at the insurer this year.
UCare’s decision to exit the MA market will transform the state’s private Medicare market at a time when insurers face financial challenges from increases in health care use and payment rates that insurers say are insufficient.
“This decision was not made lightly,” UCare CEO Hilary Marden-Resnik said in a statement Thursday. “UCare remains deeply committed to the health of Minnesotans and to supporting members through upcoming transitions.”
If the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services accepts UCare’s request to terminate its MA plans, prospective enrollees will need to find new coverage during Medicare’s annual enrollment period, which is set to start in just over a month.
In 2025, UCare had the second-highest enrollment in the state for MA plans, which are Medicare-approved plans sold by private companies [that may offer some extra benefits](https://www.medicare.gov/publications/12026-understanding-medicare-advantage-plans.pdf) compared with traditional government-operated Medicare. Only Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with nearly 200,000 enrollees, has a larger Medicare Advantage business in Minnesota.
UCare serves patients with publicly funded or subsidized health insurance. The insurer will continue offering supplemental plans for traditional Medicare, as well as privatized Medicaid, MinnesotaCare, special needs plans, and individual and family plans on MNsure.