Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage 2024-2025 Review

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage pros and cons

Our full review

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage star ratings

Average star rating, weighted by enrollment: 3.96

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plans are rated at about the industry average, getting an average rating of 3.96 stars out of 5 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2025, weighted by enrollment. For comparison, the average weighted star rating for all plans is 3.95.

Of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s rated plans, 48% are rated 4 stars and up. Of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Medicare Advantage members who are in rated plans, 58% are in plans that are rated 4 stars or higher for the 2025 plan year^[0]

CMS maintains its own database of star ratings on every Medicare Advantage and separate Medicare Part D plan, ranging from best (5 stars) to worst (1 star). The agency bases these ratings on plans’ quality of care and measurements of customer satisfaction, and ratings may change from year to year.

You can find a plan’s rating with Medicare's plan finding tool.

What does Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage cost?

Although premiums vary, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers $0-premium Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans in 47 states and Puerto Rico^[0]

(Most people pay this standard amount, but if your income is above a certain threshold, you’ll pay the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). Some Medicare Advantage plans cover part or all of your Part B premium.)

Requirements for copays, coinsurance and deductibles vary depending on your plan, location and the services you use. Other out-of-pocket costs to consider include:

• Whether the plan covers any part of your monthly Medicare Part B premium.

• The plan’s deductibles.

• Copayments and/or coinsurance for each visit or service. For instance, there may be a $10 copay for seeing your primary doctor and a $45 copay for seeing a specialist.

• The plan’s in-network and out-of-network out-of-pocket maximums.

• Whether your medical providers are in-network or out-of-network, or how often you may go out of network for care.

• Whether you require extra benefits, and if the plan charges for them.

Here are examples of BCBS Medicare Advantage costs for the most popular plans in a mid-range city:

To get a sense of costs, use Medicare's plan finding tool to compare information among available plans in your area. You can select by insurance carrier to see only Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, or compare across carriers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan types

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans as well as stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans without drug coverage.

Plan offerings include the following types:

Third-party ratings

AM Best

Financial Strength Rating: A+ (Superior) to B (Fair)

AM Best is a credit rating agency that specializes in the insurance industry. Because Blue Cross Blue Shield is a collection of companies, AM Best has rated some — but not all — Blue Cross firms.

As of Sept. 27, 2024, AM Best affirmed the following ratings for Blue Cross Blue Shield companies^[0]

J.D. Power

In its 2024 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study — the 10th it's done so far — J.D. Power measured member satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans based on eight factors ranging from level of trust to how well a provider resolves problems or complaints. The study was fielded in the 10 biggest state Medicare markets, and here’s how Blue Cross Blue Shield companies ranked out of all major providers^[0]

• California: Blue Shield of California is 4th out of 8, Anthem Blue Cross is 6th out of 8.

• Florida: Florida Blue is 4th out of 6.

• Illinois: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is 4th out of 5.

• Michigan: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is 2nd out of 4.

• New York: Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is 1st out of 5.

• North Carolina: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is 3rd out of 4.

• Ohio: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is 1st out of 4.

• Pennsylvania: Highmark is 2nd out of 7, Independence Blue Cross is 3rd out of 7.

• Texas: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas is 1st out of 6.

NCQA

Score range: 2.5 to 4.5 out of 5

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, or NCQA, rates health insurance plans on a 5-point scale (with 5 being best) based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and results from the NCQA accreditation survey. The ratings highlight the results of care and what patients say about their care.

In its September 2024 ratings of Blue-branded plans, the NCQA awarded scores between 2.5 and 4.5^[0]

Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage service area

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers Medicare Advantage plans in 48 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield family of companies includes Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), the fourth-largest Medicare Advantage provider in the country among for-profit health plans. Elevance captured 6% of national market share for Medicare Advantage in 2024, according to a report from health care analytics firm The Chartis Group. Nonprofit Blue companies lost 0.1% of market share, accounting for 10.1% of the national market in 2024^[0]

» MORE: Read our review of Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Supplement Insurance

Blue Cross Blue Shield customer service

Blue Cross Blue Shield members can contact their plan’s customer service in the following ways:

• Call the toll-free number on the back of your member ID card.

• Find your BCBS company for specific contact information.