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40 health systems just gave Medicare Advantage the boot.
That’s right. In 2025 alone, 40 major hospital systems have terminated contracts with at least one Medicare Advantage plan.
The reason? It’s not pretty.
Health system CEOs are calling it what it is: a broken system that underpays hospitals while drowning them in prior authorizations, claim denials, and endless negotiations.
Ivan Mitchell from Great Plains Health didn’t mince words: these plans are diverting resources from patient care to fighting with insurers.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
A December 2025 Berkeley Research Group report just dropped a bombshell: traditional Medicare could have saved $7 billion between 2019 and 2023 if it adopted Medicare Advantage’s utilization controls.
$7 billion.
Think about that for a second.
We have hospitals saying MA underpays and overcontrols.
We have data showing traditional Medicare overspends without controls.
And we have 28 million seniors caught in the middle.
This isn’t just about reimbursement rates. It’s about a fundamental question:
Do we want healthcare that’s affordable but restrictive, or accessible but unsustainable?
Because right now, we’re failing at both.
The real tragedy? While hospitals and insurers duke it out, patients in rural areas are losing access entirely. When your local hospital drops MA plans, and you can’t afford traditional Medicare supplements, where do you go?
Maybe it’s time we stopped asking whether Medicare Advantage or traditional Medicare is better.
Maybe we should be asking why, in 2025, we still can’t figure out how to pay for healthcare without forcing hospitals to choose between financial survival and patient access.
The 40 health systems that dropped MA this year aren’t outliers.
They’re canaries in the coal mine.
♻️ Repost if Medicare payment reform can’t wait any longer
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Author:
Jonathan Govette is a seasoned healthcare and technology executive with more than two decades of experience building, scaling, and advising digital health companies. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health, an AI-driven Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnostics company focused on expanding access to early detection for underrepresented populations, particularly patients served by Federally Qualified Health Centers and value-based health plans.
With a background in engineering, product development, and strategic partnerships, Jonathan has founded and led multiple health technology ventures across clinical care delivery, regulated medical software, and AI-enabled diagnostics. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, and health equity, with a consistent focus on translating complex clinical problems into scalable, real-world solutions.
Jonathan has spent much of his professional life dedicated to improving outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities. He has designed and implemented frameworks that align clinical quality, reimbursement, and technology to sustainably advance health equity at scale. This mission is deeply personal and informs his leadership philosophy and long-term vision for healthcare transformation.
In addition to his operating experience, Jonathan is an author and long-time writer in the healthcare domain, with over 20 years of published work covering digital health, medical innovation, and healthcare systems. He is a frequent mentor to early-stage founders and regularly advises startups on product strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market execution in regulated healthcare environments.
Before entering industry full-time, Jonathan nearly pursued a career in medicine with an early path toward cardiothoracic surgery, an experience that continues to shape his clinical perspective and respect for frontline care delivery.
CEO | Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Startup | Engineer | Writer | Almost Became a Doctor (Cardiac Thoracic Surgeon) | 3x Health Tech Founder | Startup Mentor | Follow to share what I’ve learned along the way.
