AvMed Medicare Ended in Florida: What to Do Now

If you had AvMed Medicare Advantage in Florida, you've had a rough few months.

On January 1, 2026, AvMed officially ended its Medicare Advantage program in Florida. If you were one of the thousands of Florida seniors enrolled in an AvMed Medicare plan, you didn't get a smooth transition. There was no automatic switch. No replacement plan handed to you. AvMed sent the notice, the clock started ticking, and the responsibility to choose a new plan landed on your shoulders — usually during one of the busiest, most confusing times of year.

We've spent the last several months sitting across the table from AvMed members helping them figure out what's next. Some came in calm. Most came in worried — about their doctors, their prescriptions, whether their cardiologist would still see them, whether the medications they've been on for years would still be covered. If that sounds like you, you're not alone, and you're not behind. We're going to walk through what to do, step by step, in plain language.

First, let's clear up what actually happened — because the AvMed letter didn't make it easy to understand.

What actually happened with AvMed Medicare

AvMed Health Plans made the business decision to exit the Medicare Advantage market in Florida effective January 1, 2026. AvMed had been part of the Florida Medicare landscape for years, and the exit affected thousands of members across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and other counties.

A few things to know about how it played out:

●        No one was automatically moved to a new Medicare Advantage plan. Unlike some carrier transitions, AvMed members were not auto-enrolled into a partner plan. If you didn't actively choose a new plan, you defaulted back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).

●        Members were given a Special Enrollment Period (SEP). This SEP typically ran for two months following the termination — so most AvMed members had until the end of February 2026 to choose a new Medicare Advantage plan or Part D prescription drug plan.

●        Your AvMed coverage stopped on December 31, 2025. If you haven't enrolled in a new plan since then, you may be paying full retail for prescriptions, and you don't have a Medicare Advantage network or supplemental benefits in place.

The exit wasn't AvMed members' fault. It was a business decision made at the corporate level, and the people most affected were Florida seniors who had built relationships with their AvMed doctors and routines over many years.

Three situations former AvMed members are in right now

When people come into our office, they usually fall into one of three buckets. Recognizing which one you're in is the first step to fixing it.

Situation 1: You switched to a new plan — but you're not sure it was the right choice

You picked something fast because you didn't want a gap in coverage. Now a few months in, you're starting to notice things:

●        Your primary care doctor isn't in-network

●        A prescription you've taken for years now costs you more than it used to

●        Your specialist is not covered, or requires a referral you didn't expect

●        Your monthly premium or copays are higher than what AvMed charged

This is one of the most common situations we see. The good news: depending on your specific circumstances, you may still have options to make a change. We can review your current plan side-by-side with what else is available in your area, verify whether your doctors and prescriptions are covered, and help you understand what flexibility you have under current Medicare rules.

Situation 2: You went back to Original Medicare and didn't realize what that means

If you didn't choose a new Medicare Advantage plan, you're now on Original Medicare — Parts A and B only. That's not necessarily bad, but it comes with some gaps you need to know about:

●        No prescription drug coverage. Unless you signed up for a standalone Part D plan, you're paying full retail for all medications.

●        No annual out-of-pocket maximum. Original Medicare has no cap on what you can spend in a year — a single hospitalization can be financially devastating.

●        No extra benefits. No dental, vision, hearing, transportation, fitness, or grocery cards. Those came with your AvMed plan and are not part of Original Medicare.

●        Potential late enrollment penalties. If you go too long without prescription drug coverage, Medicare may charge you a Part D late enrollment penalty for the rest of your life.

If this is you, the most important thing is to get a proper review of where you stand. Some of these issues can be addressed; others depend on enrollment period rules. We'll go through it with you.

Situation 3: You have no coverage at all and you're worried

Maybe you missed the SEP entirely. Maybe you got the AvMed letter and set it aside. Maybe a family member is handling things and didn't realize what was happening. Whatever the reason — if you're sitting here without active Medicare Advantage coverage and without Part D — there are still steps to take.

Don't panic. Don't make a rushed decision based on a TV commercial or a cold call. Call us, or another licensed Medicare broker you trust, and let us walk through your specific situation. Enrollment period rules in Medicare are complicated, and a licensed agent can review whether any options apply to you based on your circumstances.

What about your doctors and your prescriptions?

This is the question we hear more than any other. After "did AvMed really end," it's "will I lose my doctor?"

The honest answer: maybe. It depends entirely on which new plan you're considering and which providers and pharmacies are in that plan's network.

Here's how we help AvMed members verify this before they enroll in anything:

1.       You give us your list. Every doctor you see — primary care, specialists, the dermatologist your spouse hates that you go to anyway. Every prescription you take — name, dosage, frequency.

2.       We check each plan's provider directory. Carriers update these regularly, so we verify in real time, not based on last year's data.

3.       We check each plan's formulary. A formulary is the plan's list of covered drugs and what tier (cost level) each one is on. Two plans can technically "cover" the same medication and charge you wildly different amounts for it.

4.       We confirm pharmacy access. Some plans have preferred pharmacies where your copay is lower. We'll point those out.

5.       You get a side-by-side comparison. Plans you'd actually consider, with the parts that matter to you laid out clearly. No sales pitch.

This is the work that should have happened when you first transitioned away from AvMed. If it didn't, that's exactly the kind of thing we can help with now.

If you still don't have a plan in place

Medicare has different enrollment periods that may apply depending on your specific situation — Annual Enrollment, Initial Enrollment, and certain qualifying life events can each open or close eligibility windows. The rules are detailed and case-specific, which is why one of the best things you can do is sit down with a licensed Medicare broker who can review your circumstances and tell you what options actually apply to you.

In a free consultation, we'll review:

●        Whether any enrollment period currently applies to your situation

●        Your medical needs (doctors, prescriptions, chronic conditions)

●        Your budget (premiums, copays, deductibles, max out-of-pocket)

●        Your priorities (keeping your doctors, lowering drug costs, adding dental/vision, etc.)

●        Plan options in your county, side by side

No pressure to enroll. No fees. We're paid by the carriers, not by you, and we work for all the major Florida Medicare carriers — so we don't have a reason to push one specific company. We make recommendations based on what fits your situation.

Why AvMed left and what it means going forward

A lot of AvMed members felt blindsided. The plan you'd been on for years simply announced it was ending — that's hard to process.

Here's the honest context: AvMed's parent company made a strategic decision to exit Medicare Advantage in Florida. Carrier exits and consolidations have become more common in recent years across the Medicare landscape as carriers adjust to changing Medicare reimbursement rules and market conditions. AvMed is not the first carrier to leave Florida Medicare, and unfortunately it likely won't be the last.

This is one of the strongest reasons to work with a licensed independent broker rather than enrolling directly with a single carrier. We don't go anywhere. If your carrier exits or changes its benefits in a way that doesn't work for you, we're still here, we know your history, and we can help you transition. Our loyalty is to you, not to any one carrier.

What to ask in your free consultation

When you sit down with us — or any licensed Medicare broker you work with — these are the questions to make sure get answered:

●        Will every one of my doctors be in this plan's network in 2026?

●        Are all my current prescriptions covered, and at what cost tier?

●        What's my monthly premium, and what other out-of-pocket costs should I expect?

●        What's the maximum out-of-pocket I could pay in a year?

●        Does the plan require referrals to see specialists?

●        Are there extra benefits I'd actually use (dental, vision, hearing, grocery/OTC card, transportation, fitness)?

●        If I need care while traveling outside Florida, what's covered?

●        What happens if I'm unhappy with this plan? When can I change it?

A good broker should be ready and willing to answer every one of these in plain language. If anyone you talk to is dodging questions or rushing you to sign — walk away.

Talk to us — free, no pressure, no obligation

We're The Health Experts Insurance, a licensed Medicare brokerage based in Doral, Florida. We're independent, bilingual (English and Spanish), and we work with every major Florida Medicare carrier including Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna HealthSpring, Devoted, WellCare, and others.

We've spent the last several months helping AvMed members figure out their next step. There's no situation we haven't seen, and no question we won't answer honestly.

📞 Call us at 1-800-380-6821 or book a free consultation online.

If you're not sure if your situation is fixable, the only way to know is to talk to someone who can review the specifics. The consultation is free, and there's never any obligation to enroll.