How Much Does a Medicare Advantage Plan Cost?

The average Medicare Advantage plan will cost $18.50 per month in 2024, including plans that charge a $0 premium, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)^[0]

What is Medicare Advantage?

Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is a bundled alternative to Original Medicare that's offered by private insurance companies. It includes Medicare Part A and Part B, usually prescription drug coverage (Medicare Part D) and often additional benefits, which may include some coverage for dental and hearing. In 2023, 51% of people eligible for Medicare opted for Medicare Advantage plans^[0]

What are Medicare Advantage costs?

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you may be responsible for paying these costs:

Premiums

Medicare Advantage plans often have no premiums — 66% of Medicare Advantage plans have a $0 premium in 2024 — but it’s not an absolute. For those in plans that charge a premium, the average cost is about $65 per month. Monthly premiums range from $5 to $327^[0]

In addition to the Medicare Advantage plan premium, beneficiaries are responsible for their Medicare Part B premium, which is $174.70 per month in 2024. Some Medicare Advantage plans cover some or all of your Part B premium^[0]

Prescription drug costs

For the vast majority of people with Medicare Advantage, prescription drug coverage is bundled with the plan. If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan that charges no premium and includes prescription drug coverage, that means you pay no premium for Medicare Part D coverage. If your plan includes prescription drug coverage and charges a premium, the drug benefits are included in that cost.

» MORE: How much does Medicare Part D cost?

Coinsurance, copayments and deductibles

Depending on your Medicare Advantage plan, you’ll typically have to pay a deductible, coinsurance and/or copayments when you seek medical care. Because many plans have no premium, it’s helpful to understand the plan’s cost structure, especially if you have a chronic condition.

• Deductible: The amount you’ll pay out of pocket before your Medicare Advantage plan starts covering eligible services.

• Coinsurance: A percentage of your medical costs — 20% of services, for instance — you pay out of pocket, generally after you hit your deductible.

• Copayment: A flat fee you pay for a specific service, such as a doctor’s visit or emergency room trip.

These payments are out-of-pocket costs, and Medicare Advantage plans are required to have a limit on what you can pay out of pocket each plan year. That limit can’t be higher than $8,850 in 2024.

Prescription drug benefits have separate out-of-pocket costs. For Part D in 2024, once you hit the limit of $8,000 in drug spending, you won't pay anything else for the rest of the year. And starting in 2025, out-of-pocket drug spending will be capped at $2,000 per year.

Costs for additional benefits

Medicare Advantage plans typically offer access to extra benefits that aren’t available under Original Medicare. Some plans charge an additional fee for extra coverage.

For instance, members of some Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage plans have access to the company’s Advantage Plus benefits package, which costs $21 per month for comprehensive dental, hearing and additional vision care. Most Medicare Advantage plans, however, include extra benefits in the cost of the plan.

Medicare Advantage by state

Medicare Advantage plan availability varies by location. Click on a state on the map below to see the best Medicare Advantage plans available in that state.