If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in the St. Louis area, the biggest network news for 2027 is BJC HealthCare. It is leaving two large Medicare Advantage networks on January 1, 2027. This page pulls together what BJC, Mercy and SSM Health have published so you can check before December 7.
This only matters for Medicare Advantage plans. Original Medicare and standard Medicare Supplement plans do not use networks. With those, you can go to any hospital that takes Medicare.
The big changes at a glance
| Hospital system | What changed | When | Plans listed as in network |
|---|---|---|---|
| BJC HealthCare (Barnes-Jewish, Missouri Baptist, Christian Hospital and more) | Out of network for Aetna and Anthem Medicare Advantage | January 1, 2027 | Devoted Health, Essence, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, per BJC’s 2027 Medicare page |
| Mercy (St. Louis area hospitals) | No change announced | None announced | Mercy’s Missouri list includes Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Devoted, Essence, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Wellcare and others. Ask your plan for 2027 |
| SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital | No change announced that we could find | None announced | Aetna, Anthem, Essence, HealthSpring, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and others, per its March 2026 list. Devoted and Health Alliance listed as out of network |
| Other SSM Health St. Louis hospitals | No change announced that we could find | None announced | Ask your plan |
Networks can change during the year. Always confirm with your plan before you enroll.
BJC HealthCare
BJC is the largest hospital system in the St. Louis area. Its Medicare page says that starting January 1, 2027, BJC will no longer take part in Aetna and Anthem Medicare Advantage plans. After that date, BJC doctors, providers and hospitals will be out of network for people on those plans. BJC’s insurance page also shows both contracts ending December 31, 2026.
News reports list the hospitals affected, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Siteman Cancer Center, Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish St. Peters, Barnes-Jewish West County, Christian Hospital, Progress West and Memorial Hospital in Belleville and Shiloh. Reports say Washington University physicians are leaving those networks too.
BJC says it will stay in network for 2027 with Devoted Health, Essence, Humana and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans. It also says Medicare Supplement plans are not affected, even ones sold by Aetna or Anthem, because a Medicare Supplement is not a Medicare Advantage plan.
If you are in the middle of treatment, your plan may approve extra time with your BJC doctor. Only Aetna or Anthem can grant that, so call them early. BJC’s sister system Saint Luke’s in Kansas City is leaving Aetna Medicare Advantage on the same date. See our Kansas City hospital networks guide.
Mercy
Mercy runs Mercy Hospital St. Louis and other hospitals around the region. Its Medicare page lists these in-network Medicare Advantage plans for Missouri: Aetna, American Health Advantage of Missouri, Anthem, Cigna, Devoted Health, Essence, Humana, Medica, NHC Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, UnitedHealthcare and Wellcare by Allwell.
The page talks about 2027 but does not say which plan year the list covers, and it does not break the list out by hospital. We did not find any 2027 Mercy network change announced. Check your plan’s 2027 directory to be sure.
SSM Health
SSM Health runs SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and several other hospitals in the area. The Saint Louis University Hospital list, revised March 2026, shows these Medicare Advantage plans in network: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Essence, HealthSpring, Home State Health, Humana, NHC Advantage and UnitedHealthcare.
The same list shows Devoted Health and Health Alliance as out of network. That matters because Devoted is in network at BJC. If you split your care between BJC and SSM Health, one plan may not cover both.
We could not open SSM Health’s list for its other St. Louis hospitals, and we did not find a 2027 change announced. Ask your plan.
How to check your own hospital
- Find your plan card and your Annual Notice of Change for 2027.
- Look up your hospital and each doctor in your plan’s 2027 provider directory, not the 2026 one.
- If something is out of network, compare plans that keep your doctors before December 7.
We can check it for you
Cole Insure helps people in St. Louis and across Missouri by phone and video. Our help is free. We check your doctors, your hospital and your medicines against the 2027 plans we offer, including Humana and Devoted Health. Call (816) 307-6165 or book a free review. The Annual Enrollment Period ends December 7, 2026, the last day to choose a plan for January 1.
You can also read how to check your doctors and hospitals on your own.
Live near St. Louis? See our local Medicare help page for the hospitals, networks and sign-up rules that apply to you.
Sources
- BJC HealthCare: Medicare (2027 Medicare Advantage plans)
- BJC HealthCare: Insurance
- KCTV5: BJC HealthCare, Saint Luke's to leave Aetna Medicare Advantage (October 21, 2026)
- Live Insurance News: BJC out of network for Aetna and Anthem Medicare Advantage in St. Louis (October 21, 2026)
- Mercy: Medicare coverage options
- SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital: Insurances accepted (revised March 2026)
- Medicare.gov: Joining a plan (enrollment periods)
