NerdWallet’s editorial team reviewed Medicare Advantage plans based on premiums, out-of-pocket costs, prescription drug coverage, quality ratings, customer satisfaction and more.
We analyzed every single one of the nearly 5,100 Medicare Advantage plans commercially available for 2027. Here are the Medicare Advantage companies that got our attention.
Overall, many of the large national players aren’t the strongest options for 2027. Government quality ratings have slipped for many of the major companies, and they might struggle to compete with smaller companies on cost and/or customer satisfaction. That makes shopping for 2027 Medicare plans a great time to take an extra-close look at the local and regional companies offering plans in your area.
At the national level, here are the Medicare Advantage companies that got our attention:
Best major company: Humana Medicare Advantage.
Best for brand-name prescription drugs: Aetna Medicare Advantage.
Best for plan options: UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage.
45+ Medicare companies and brands analyzed by our team of experts.
30+ years of combined experience covering Medicare and personal finance.
Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
NerdWallet’s Medicare content, including articles, reviews and recommendations, is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in Medicare. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, Washington Post, Nasdaq, MSN, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance and other national and regional media outlets. They have been cited in publications including Healthline, and appeared on NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast.
Best Medicare Advantage companies in 2026-2027
Insurance company | NerdWallet rating | $0 plan availability | Members in high-quality plans | Member experience | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEST FOR PLAN OPTIONS | |||||
 (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet | 3.8/5 | 68% (Average) | Medium (50% to 84%) | 3.26 (Below average) | (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet |
BEST MAJOR COMPANY | |||||
 (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet | 4.6/5 | 80% (Above average) | High (85% to 100%) | 3.86 (Above average) | (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet |
BEST FOR BRAND-NAME PRESCRIPTION DRUGS | |||||
 (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet | 4.2/5 | 78% (Above average) | Medium (50% to 84%) | 3.4 (Average) | (855) 432-0512 / TTY 711 M-F 9AM-9PM, Sat 10AM-6PM ETSpeak to a licensed insurance agent on askchapter.orgon NerdWallet |
Best major company: Humana
Humana earns the highest score on NerdWallet’s Medicare Advantage rubric among the major insurance companies with plans available in the majority of states. We evaluate companies on a lot of metrics, and Humana scores pretty well on just about all of them.
It’s important to consider a plan’s costs and coverage for your doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs and medical needs. Humana won’t be a perfect fit for everybody, but Humana Medicare Advantage plans are worth a good look.
What are Humana's best features?
Quality ratings: Humana’s quality ratings from the government went up in a year when most of the big companies saw declines. These quality ratings have been a disadvantage for Humana in the past, so the turnaround is good to see.
Low costs. Humana offers $0-premium Medicare Advantage plans in nearly every state. When its plans have premiums, they’re on the cheaper side. And Humana offers some of the lowest caps on annual out-of-pocket spending among the major Medicare Advantage companies.
What are Humana's drawbacks?
Humana doesn’t perform well on JD Power’s latest Medicare Advantage member satisfaction survey. It came in last place in six out of the 12 states in the study. The company also gets more customer complaints than average.
And it’s worth repeating that while Humana beats many of the biggest companies on the market, there are some exceptional smaller companies out there. We saw some of the very best quality ratings, lowest costs and happiest customers from the regional and local companies.
» Check out our full Humana Medicare Advantage review for more of our thoughts on costs, quality ratings, drug coverage, customer service and more.
- Above-average government quality ratings.
- 80% of plans have $0 premiums.
- Lower-than-average caps on out-of-pocket costs.
- Out-of-pocket costs for ambulances, emergency visits and hospitalizations are just average.
- Subpar performance in many states on JD Power’s member satisfaction survey.
Best for brand-name prescription drugs: Aetna
Aetna is a large insurance company owned by CVS, which is known for its pharmacies. So it may be fitting that Aetna stands out in 2027 for its prescription drug coverage. If you take pricey brand-name medications, its Medicare Advantage plans might help you save on out-of-pocket costs compared to many competitors.
Why do we like Aetna?
Out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. If you take brand-name prescription drugs, you probably know that those copays and/or coinsurance can get pricey. Aetna stands out in our 2027 analysis by offering some of the cheapest out-of-pocket costs for brand-name prescription drugs on Tier 3 of its formulary. Virtually every Aetna Medicare Advantage plan has $0 copays for Tier 1 generic drugs, too.
$0-premium plans. About 78% of Aetna’s plans have $0 premiums. And when plans do charge monthly premiums, they’re on the cheaper side.
Where does Aetna fall short?
Aetna’s government quality ratings have slipped, falling a little below average for 2027 plans. That’s a trend among many of the major national companies this year — with the notable exception of Humana.
It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on out-of-pocket costs. Aetna’s copays for hospital stays were pricier than average, according to our analysis. And Aetna’s average maximum out-of-pocket costs are on the high side, too. That could matter because if you hit the out-of-pocket cap, you won't owe copays, coinsurance or deductibles for covered services for the rest of the year. If you think you might spend a lot on care, lower hospital costs and/or a lower maximum out-of-pocket cap could be preferable.
» Read our full Aetna Medicare Advantage review for more information on Aetna's prices, ratings, coverage, member experience and more.
- Low out-of-pocket costs for many brand-name prescription drugs.
- 78% of plans have $0 premiums.
- Plans with monthly premiums are cheaper than average.
- Below-average government quality ratings.
- Copays for hospital stays can be pricey.
- Higher-than-average caps on out-of-pocket costs.
Best for plan options: UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) is probably one of the first companies that comes to mind when you think about health insurance. It's big in Medicare, too — the largest company selling Medicare Advantage plans.
This insurance giant could be worth a look when it comes to Medicare Advantage.
Why consider UnitedHealthcare?
Plan type options. UnitedHealthcare offers every type of Medicare Advantage plan: HMOs, HMO-POS plans, PPOs and PFFS plans. So you can choose from a menu of options when it comes to your preferred balance between out-of-pocket costs and provider networks. UHC also offers all three kinds of special needs plans. So if you have a chronic condition, need institutional care or are also eligible for Medicaid, there might be a UHC plan tailored to your needs.
It’s everywhere. UnitedHealthcare estimates that its plans are available to more than 94% of Medicare-eligible individuals nationwide. And it offers $0-premium plans throughout its national footprint of 47 states and Washington, D.C. — more than any other Medicare Advantage company for 2027. So wherever you are, you probably have UHC plan options available to you.
UnitedHealthcare’s downsides
2027 isn’t a banner year for quality ratings among many of the big Medicare companies, UnitedHealthcare included. It hasn’t dropped massively, but UHC scores an average of 3.83 out of 5, weighted by enrollment for plans available in 2027. The weighted average among all 2027 plans is 3.92.
UnitedHealthcare’s copays for hospital stays can be on the higher side, too. Comparing enrollment-weighted averages for a seven-day hospital stay, UnitedHealthcare’s copays were about $2,151, compared to an average of $1,801 among all 2027 Medicare Advantage plans.
» Check out our full UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage review for more details on UHC plans' cost, quality, benefits, customer service and more.
- Available with $0 premiums in 47 states and Washington, D.C.
- Offers many plan types to choose from, including all types of special needs plans.
- So-so government quality ratings.
- Below-average scores for member experience.
- Hospital copays could be cheaper.
How we choose the best Medicare Advantage plans
🏢 23 companies reviewed covering 87% of beneficiaries
📝 5,089 unique Medicare Advantage plans compared
🔢 3,048,418 unique data points analyzed
📊 Star rating categories
NerdWallet's editorial team evaluates every Medicare Advantage plan on the commercial market to find strengths, weaknesses and the best value for customers. Our Medicare Advantage rubric includes a range of metrics in three major categories:
💰 Cost (40%). We evaluate plans’ premiums, out-of-pocket costs for medical care, out-of-pocket spending caps and costs for prescription drugs across multiple formulary tiers.
🗣️ Customer satisfaction (30%). We compare plans’ performance on CMS' measures of member experience, as well as complaint rates and disenrollment surveys.
📈 Quality (30%). We compare plans’ performance on CMS star ratings and the 45 individual CMS quality measures that underlie those quality ratings.
⭐ What our star ratings mean
Companies with 5 stars are exceptional, with low premiums, competitive out-of-pocket costs, good quality ratings and happy members.
Companies in the 4.5 star range are excellent, but might trail leaders' performance on one or two factors.
Companies with around 4 stars are strong performers that might not be as well rounded as higher-rated competitors.
Companies with 3.5 stars or fewer could do better in certain criteria, like pricing and customer complaints.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings or our reviews. Read more about our Medicare Advantage ratings methodology and editorial guidelines.
What are the top-rated Medicare Advantage plans in each state?
This roundup lists our top picks among the big insurance companies whose Medicare Advantage plans are generally available throughout most of the country. But we also look at Medicare Advantage plans on a state-by-state basis.
Our state roundups include both the big companies and strong performers that are only available in limited locations, such as UPMC for Life, Kaiser Permanente, SCAN Health Plan, Highmark and Alignment.
Select a state from the table below to see the best Medicare Advantage plans available there.
Check out NerdWallet's roundups of the best Medicare Advantage options in each state: | |||
More Nerdy Perspective
What's the highest rated Medicare Advantage plan?
Among big companies with plans available nationally, NerdWallet’s top-scoring companies for 2027 are Humana, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. And if you’re looking for the best CMS quality ratings, there are 5-star Medicare Advantage plans in 31 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
Not everyone has access to a top-scoring plan, and not every well-rated plan is the right fit. Research what plans are available in your area and consider star ratings along with other important factors like coverage and provider networks.
Among big companies with plans available nationally, NerdWallet’s top-scoring companies for 2027 are Humana, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. And if you’re looking for the best CMS quality ratings, there are 5-star Medicare Advantage plans in 31 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
Not everyone has access to a top-scoring plan, and not every well-rated plan is the right fit. Research what plans are available in your area and consider star ratings along with other important factors like coverage and provider networks.
Alex Rosenberglead writer covering MedicareHow to pick a Medicare Advantage plan
The right Medicare Advantage plan for you will depend on your health history, prescription medications and where you live, among other factors. Here are some strategies for selecting the best plan:
Check quality ratings. CMS collects data on Medicare Advantage plans from member surveys, the plans themselves and medical providers, and then it assigns a star rating based on the results. The star rating is on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best.
Compare out-of-pocket costs. Each plan will have a monthly premium (many Medicare Advantage plans have no premium) and a maximum out-of-pocket cost, which is the most you’ll pay in a year for covered health care.
Keep your meds in mind. Your medications may seem like an afterthought, but make sure you investigate how each plan will cover your medications — or whether they’re covered at all.
Look for your doctors. If you’ve got a list of caregivers and medical facilities you use and prefer, look for plans that include them.
Consider the plan type. If you see specialists frequently and you don’t want to seek a referral for every office visit, a PPO plan is probably the better fit. If you’re a light health care user and see mostly your primary care physician, an HMO might be more affordable.
» MORE: What you'll pay for Medicare
You may be eligible for Medicare plans during a special enrollment period if you are turning 65, new to Medicare plans, moving or losing coverage.
If you have additional questions about Medicare, visit Medicare.gov or call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227, TTY 877-486-2048).
Medicare Advantage review methodology
NerdWallet’s Medicare Advantage ratings are based on premiums, out-of-pocket costs, prescription drug coverage, quality data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, consumer experience and more. We analyze and calculate ratings for every Medicare Advantage plan sold throughout the U.S. on a curved 5-point scale.
At the national level, we calculate ratings for companies as the average of their plans’ scores, weighted by enrollment.
NerdWallet’s editorial team analyzed companies covering about 87% of all Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in the United States. We reviewed 23 Medicare Advantage brands, with some insurance companies having more than one brand under their umbrella. (For example, Blue Cross Blue Shield includes the brands Anthem and Highmark.)
The Medicare Advantage marketplace is concentrated among just a handful of companies. In many places, one company serves more than half of the market. At the national level, NerdWallet’s reviews include each of the 10 largest brands by enrollment.
We research and analyze all commercial Medicare Advantage plans and publish reviews for selected companies. At the state level, we review at least one major insurer in every state where Medicare Advantage plans are sold, and we review both of the top two insurers in 40 of those 49 states. (Alaska doesn't offer Medicare Advantage plans.) We also look at online search volume to identify regional and other notable players in the space.
These reviews are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several plans to find the best coverage and rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines and full ratings methodology for Medicare Advantage.
How we score companies
NerdWallet's editorial team uses huge quantities of data to score Medicare Advantage companies. Unlike the government's quality ratings, we include costs as a factor in our scoring. And compared with review sites across the web, NerdWallet's editorial assessments are more comprehensive in a range of areas:
More data: Our analysis includes hundreds of thousands of rows of data. We incorporate data from all 45 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measures — and that’s just the start. We’ve also built and analyzed our own measures for customer service, premiums, prescription drug costs, and out-of-pocket costs for emergency visits, ambulance rides and hospital stays to provide a more well-rounded picture of plans’ performance.
More plans and companies: We don’t just stick to a few big names. We've analyzed and assigned scores to every single one of over 5,000 commercial Medicare Advantage plan offerings, down to individual plans offered state-by-state. Our reviews span 23 companies covering about 31.5 million enrollees. That’s about 87% of all Medicare Advantage members.
More timely updates: You don’t want to rely on out-of-date reviews when shopping for your coverage. Our team grabs the new year’s data as soon as it’s released in September and October, delivering the freshest updates for open enrollment season.
More detail: We’re not just providing surface-level summaries. We publish multiple roundups of the best plans, individual deep-dive reviews of nearly two dozen Medicare Advantage companies, 50 state roundups with information specific to the best plans available in each state, and data-driven head-to-head comparisons for many of the big companies you might be choosing between.
CMS quality measures
C01: Breast Cancer Screening.
C02: Colorectal Cancer Screening.
C03: Annual Flu Vaccine.
C04: Improving or Maintaining Physical Health.
C05: Improving or Maintaining Mental Health.
C06: Monitoring Physical Activity.
C07: Special Needs Plan (SNP) Care Management.
C08: Care for Older Adults – Medication Review.
C09: Care for Older Adults - Functional Status Assessment.
C10: Osteoporosis Management in Women who had a Fracture.
C11: Diabetes Care – Eye Exam.
C12: Diabetes Care – Blood Sugar Controlled.
C13: Kidney Health Evaluation for Patients with Diabetes.
C14: Controlling High Blood Pressure.
C15: Reducing the Risk of Falling.
C16: Improving Bladder Control.
C17: Plan All-Cause Readmissions.
C18: Statin Therapy for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.
C19: Transitions of Care.
C20: Follow-up after Emergency Department Visit for People with Multiple High-Risk Chronic Conditions.
C21: Getting Needed Care.*
C22: Getting Appointments and Care Quickly.*
C23: Customer Service.*
C24: Rating of Health Care Quality.*
C25: Rating of Health Plan.*
C26: Care Coordination.*
C27: Complaints about the Health Plan.
C28: Members Choosing to Leave the Plan.
C29: Health Plan Quality Improvement.
C30: Plan Makes Timely Decisions about Appeals.
C31: Reviewing Appeals Decisions.
C32: Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability.
D01: Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability.
D02: Complaints about the Drug Plan.
D03: Members Choosing to Leave the Plan.
D04: Drug Plan Quality Improvement.
D05: Rating of Drug Plan.
D06: Getting Needed Prescription Drugs.
D07: MPF Price Accuracy.
D08: Medication Adherence for Diabetes Medications.
D09: Medication Adherence for Hypertension (RAS antagonists).
D10: Medication Adherence for Cholesterol (Statins).
D11: Statin Use in Persons with Diabetes (SUPD).
D12: Concurrent Use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines (COB).
D13: Polypharmacy: Use of Multiple Anticholinergic Medications in Older Adults (Poly-ACH).
* Also used to calculate NerdWallet's Member Experience sub-score for Medicare Advantage plans.
NerdWallet's unique measures
Percentage of plans with $0 premiums.
Percentage of members in plans with $0 premiums.
Average non-$0 premium.
Average maximum out-of-pocket cost.
Percentage of plans offering prescription drug coverage. Percentage of plans with no deductible for Tier 1 prescription drugs.
Percentage of plans with no deductible for Tier 2 prescription drugs.
Percentage of plans with no deductible for Tier 3 prescription drugs.
Average non-$0 deductible for Tier 1 prescription drugs.
Average non-$0 deductible for Tier 2 prescription drugs.
Average non-$0 deductible for Tier 3 prescription drugs.
Average cost of a typical emergency department visit.
Average cost of a typical ambulance ride.
Average cost of a typical hospital stay.
Plan disenrollment reasons index.
Percentage of plans rated 4 stars or higher.
Percentage of members in plans rated 4 stars or higher.
Prevalence of "Giveback" plans.
Formulary tiers
We evaluate Medicare Advantage plans based on their prices for the first three tiers on their formulary, the list of covered drugs. Many plans have five-tier formularies:
Tier 1: Preferred generic drugs.
Tier 2: Most generic drugs.
Tier 3: Preferred brand-name drugs.
Tier 4: Non-preferred brand-name drugs.
Tier 5: Specialty drugs.
We evaluate Tiers 1–3 individually based on their out-of-pocket costs and whether a prescription drug deductible applies.
We don't compare plans based on higher tiers because there are fewer significant differences in plan design. Nearly all plans charge coinsurance for Tier 4 and Tier 5 drugs, so what you'll pay depends mostly on the retail price of the drug.
Scoring
Plans get the highest scores for offering the lowest out-of-pocket costs. Plans get a perfect score for the tier if they offer $0 copays.
We evaluate plans that do charge copays or coinsurance based on reference prices:
Tier 1: $15.
Tier 2: $50.
Tier 3: $200.
Using reference prices lets us compare plans with copays and coinsurance. For example, with a copay, you might owe a flat $40 for a Tier 3 drug. An 18% coinsurance could work out slightly cheaper, at $36 for a $200 drug. But a plan with a 25% coinsurance would cost you $50 — and we'd score it lower.
Plans also earn points based on whether a prescription drug deductible applies at each of the first three tiers. We prefer plans that start covering your medications immediately, rather than after you've met a deductible.
Plan details
We give two numbers in the boxes above. First, the percentage of the company's plans with $0 copays for the tier. These percentages are often pretty high for Tier 1, but can drop off sharply afterward. Second, we list averages of what plans that do charge copays or coinsurance would cost. We don't include the plans with $0 copays in these averages because we want to give a realistic sense of what you might actually pay. The averages are estimates based on our reference prices, after you've met your prescription drug deductible, if any.
Medicare Advantage plans that don't include prescription drug coverage don't get scored on these measures. They're not penalized for the lack of coverage, but their scores for other cost factors like premiums and out-of-pocket costs for medical care get higher weight in their overall ratings.
Services
We evaluate Medicare Advantage plans based on the out-of-pocket costs they charge for three services: a visit to the emergency department, an ambulance ride and a seven-day hospital stay.
We chose these services for several reasons:
They’re all reasonably common.
They could result in unexpected healthcare costs.
Plans can differ significantly in terms of their out-of-pocket costs for these services.
Emergency and ambulance charges
We extracted plan-level cost information from CMS’ “MPF Benefit Summary,” a giant spreadsheet that lays out whether and how plans cover an array of healthcare services.
Emergency visits and ambulance rides often have coinsurance, which means you owe a percentage of Medicare’s allowed cost. To put plans on a level playing field, we used reference prices for these services. We used $1,200 as a round reference price for an ambulance ride, based on numbers from MedPAC’s June 2026 report to Congress.
For an emergency department visit, we used $800 to represent the allowed amounts for a high-severity visit that doesn’t result in an admission to the hospital for inpatient care. That’s based on the sum of Medicare’s physician payment rate for CPT 99285 and facility fee for APC 5025.
We used these reference prices to calculate out-of-pocket costs for plans that charge coinsurance for either of the services above. That allows us to compare plans with copays against plans with coinsurance on an even playing field.
Hospital stays
Out-of-pocket costs for hospital stays are typically copays per day for a certain number of days. We used a seven-day hospital stay to compare costs. The average length of stay for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries is 7.1 days, according to a study published by the American Medical Association in 2025. Using this reference length of stay allows us to compare plans that charge out-of-pocket costs on a per-day basis against ones that charge per stay, regardless of length.
Scoring
For each service, we score plans more highly when they have lower out-of-pocket costs. Company-level averages are weighted by plan enrollment within the company.