United States · Medicare Advantage · Flagship

Which Medicare Advantage Plans Are Best for 2027, and Which Are Worst?

Q: How many Medicare Advantage plans have 5 stars in 2027?

Fifteen contracts, down from 22 for 2026 [1]. They hold 787,962 members between them, about 2% of people in a rated plan [2,3].

By Best Worst Insurance Editorial TeamUpdated October 18, 2026

CMS rates every Medicare Advantage contract from one to five stars each October, and the 2027 ratings came out on 8 October 2026, a week before open enrollment ^[1]. We ranked all 508 rated contracts on them and weighted each by the people enrolled in it, 35,077,515 members as of October 2026 ^[2,3]. Weighting changes the answer. Counted by contract, only 37% of plans reach four stars; counted by member, 71% of people are in one, because the big insurers mostly run highly rated contracts ^[1]. The split between insurers is wide. Every Kaiser Permanente member is in a contract rated four stars or better, and 95% of Humana's are. At Wellcare it is 10% ^[2,3]. The rating sits on the contract, and every plan sold under that contract carries it, so the contract number at the start of your plan ID (H5521-001, for example) tells you which row below is yours.

Best Worst Insurance Key Takeaways

Kaiser Permanente is the best large insurer on this measure: 100% of its 2,074,678 members are in contracts rated four stars or more, at an enrollment-weighted average of 4.48 ^[2,3]. Humana is the best of the national giants, with 95% of 7,064,007 members at four stars or better.
Wellcare (Centene) is the worst large insurer. Only 10% of its 815,956 members are in a four-star contract, across 46 contracts, and its average is 3.22. HealthSpring and Blue Cross plans owned by Health Care Service Corporation are close behind at 13% ^[2,3].
UnitedHealthcare, the largest, sits in the middle: 68% of its 9,224,282 members are at four stars or more, and 25 of its contracts fell this year, more than any other insurer ^[2,3]^[2,4,3].
Ratings fell more often than they rose. Of 468 contracts rated both years, 183 dropped and 88 improved, and 10,933,951 people are in a contract rated lower for 2027 than for 2026 ^[2,4,3]. Aetna's biggest contract, H5521, with 1,040,762 members, slipped from 4.5 to 4 ^[2,4,3].
Five stars got rarer: 15 contracts for 2027 against 22 for 2026 ^[1]. Two of the three largest are Puerto Rico plans, MCS Classicare and Triple-S, so for most of the mainland the realistic best is 4.5 ^[2,3].
Four contracts carry CMS's low-performing warning for scoring below three stars three years running: ATRIO Health Plans H3814, Aetna Better Health of California H4982, HealthSpring H7389 and Nascentia Health Plus H9066 ^[2].

How we know: Every rating is read from CMS's 2027 Star Ratings data tables, published 8 October 2026, and every member count from CMS's Monthly Enrollment by Contract report for October 2026. We joined the two on contract number and counted only contracts with a 2027 overall rating, which leaves out stand-alone drug plans and contracts too new or too small to rate. As a check on the join, our counts reproduce the CMS fact sheet exactly: 188 contracts at four stars or more, holding 71% of members ^[1]. The 2026 comparison uses CMS's 2026 table as updated on 22 July 2026. Insurers are grouped by the parent organisation CMS records for each contract. Every figure comes out of a committed script, not a hand calculation, and the full table is available from our data page. No insurer pays to appear, and we sell no plans. Full methodology →

Best overall

Kaiser Permanente

All 2,074,678 members in contracts rated four stars or better, average 4.48, the highest of any insurer with more than a million members ^[2,3]. Caveat: Kaiser sells in only a handful of states, and only to people who will use its own doctors.

Best national insurer

Humana

95% of 7,064,007 members at four stars or more, average 4.18 ^[2,3]. Its weakest contracts, H5970 and H3533, sit at 3 stars, which is why the figure is not 100%.

Worst large insurer

Wellcare (Centene)

10% of 815,956 members at four stars or more, across 46 contracts, average 3.22 ^[2,3]. Eight of its contracts sit at 2.5 ^[2,3].

Biggest slide

HealthSpring (HCSC)

Its largest contract, H4513, fell a full star, from 4.5 to 3.5, with 387,988 members in it ^[2,4,3]. Across the parent, 13% of members are at four stars or more, and H7389 carries CMS's low-performing warning ^[2].

The twelve largest Medicare Advantage insurers, ranked by share of members in a 4-star plan

Members are CMS's October 2026 enrollment; ratings are the 2027 overall Star Rating of each contract. The average is weighted by members, so a small five-star contract does not lift a large three-star book ^[2,3]. The last column names each insurer's lowest-rated contract, the largest one where several tie.

Insurer	Members, Oct 2026	Rated contracts	Members in a 4+ star contract	Average stars (by member)	Its lowest-rated contract
Kaiser Permanente	2,074,678	9	100%	4.48	Kaiser Permanente H0630, 4 stars
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan	623,246	3	99%	4.49	NextBlue of North Dakota H6202, 3.5 stars
SCAN Health Plan	455,258	4	96%	3.98	SCAN Health Plan H1822, 3.5 stars
Humana	7,064,007	30	95%	4.18	Humana H5970, 3 stars
MCS Classicare (MHH Healthcare)	380,150	2	95%	4.92	GlobalHealth H3706, 3.5 stars
Highmark	424,585	8	85%	4.30	Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield H7710, 2.5 stars
Devoted Health	484,528	29	79%	4.03	Devoted Health H2923, 3 stars
Aetna (CVS Health)	4,130,978	39	70%	3.99	Aetna Medicare H4982, 2.5 stars
UnitedHealthcare (UnitedHealth Group)	9,224,282	54	68%	3.93	UnitedHealthcare H5435, 2.5 stars
Anthem and Wellpoint (Elevance Health)	1,806,985	37	47%	3.82	Healthy Blue H6316, 2.5 stars
HealthSpring and Blue Cross (HCSC)	874,833	21	13%	3.39	HealthSpring H0672, 2.5 stars
Wellcare (Centene)	815,956	46	10%	3.22	Wellcare H0029, 2.5 stars

1. What a star rating measures, and what it does not

A Medicare Advantage contract is rated on up to 43 measures if it includes drug coverage: whether members get screenings and check-ups, how chronic conditions are managed, member surveys on getting care quickly, complaints, how often people leave, and how fast and fairly the plan decides appeals ^[1]. CMS turns each measure into one to five stars against cut points it recalculates every year, then averages them into the overall rating used here.

It does not measure what a plan costs you. Premiums, copays, the out-of-pocket maximum and which doctors are in network are all separate, and all of them can matter more than half a star. It also describes the past. The 2027 rating mostly reflects care delivered in 2025, so it is a record of how a contract has run rather than a promise about next year.

So: a verdict on quality as CMS measures it, weighted by the people it affects. Pair it with the plan's own costs before you choose.

In this section: the worst Medicare Advantage plans · the five-star plans · look up any contract's 2027 rating · Humana's contracts · the states with the worst plans · by state: Florida, Texas, California, New York, Georgia.

2. Best insurers: nearly every member in a four-star plan

The table at the top of the page is the ranking, and Kaiser Permanente leads it. All 2,074,678 of its members are in contracts rated four stars or more, and its member-weighted average of 4.48 is the highest of any insurer with over a million members ^[2,3]. The catch is availability. Kaiser sells Medicare Advantage in a limited set of states, and only through its own doctors and hospitals.

Humana is the strongest result among the national insurers. 95% of its 7,064,007 members are at four stars or better, average 4.18 ^[2,3]. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan reaches 99% and SCAN Health Plan 96%, both regional. Humana's turnaround, from 42% of members in a four-star contract on last year's ratings, is broken down contract by contract on the Humana page ^[2,4,3].

UnitedHealthcare is the largest Medicare Advantage insurer in the country, with 9,224,282 members in rated contracts, and 68% of them are in a four-star contract ^[2,3]. Aetna is almost level at 70%. For either one, which contract you are in matters more than the brand, because both run contracts at 4.5 and contracts at 2.5.

3. Worst insurers: most members below four stars

Wellcare, Centene's Medicare brand, is the weakest large insurer in the 2027 ratings. Only 10% of its 815,956 members are in a contract rated four stars or more, spread over 46 contracts, and its average is 3.22 ^[2,3]. Eight of its contracts sit at 2.5, the largest being Coordinated Care of Washington H0029 and Wellcare of Iowa H1862 ^[2,3].

Health Care Service Corporation, which owns HealthSpring and several Blue Cross plans, has 13% of 874,833 members at four stars ^[2,3]. Its HealthSpring contract H7389 is one of four in the country carrying CMS's low-performing warning ^[2]. Anthem and Wellpoint, under Elevance Health, are at 47%. Healthfirst, the New York plan, has none of its 374,633 members in a four-star contract.

The lowest-rated contracts for 2027, by rating and then by members ^[2,3]. A Special Needs Plan contract serves people with Medicaid, a chronic condition or a nursing-home stay, and is often rated lower partly because of who it enrolls.

Brand	Contract	Legal name	2027 stars	Members, Oct 2026	Note
Verda Health Plan of Texas	H5163	Verda Health Plan of Texas Inc	2	3,893	Special Needs Plan contract
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Medicare Advantage	H7379	Carefirst Advantage PPO, Inc.	2.5	47,606	—
Blue Shield of California	H4937	California Physicians' Service	2.5	46,821	—
Wellcare	H0029	Coordinated Care of Washington, Inc.	2.5	31,644	Special Needs Plan contract
HealthSpring	H0672	Healthspring Healthcare of Colorado, Inc.	2.5	26,459	—
ATRIO Health Plans	H6743	Atrio Health Plans	2.5	21,080	—
Wellcare	H1862	Wellcare of Iowa, Inc.	2.5	12,928	Special Needs Plan contract
ATRIO Health Plans	H7006	Atrio Health Plans	2.5	10,452	Special Needs Plan contract
Community Health Group	H4733	Community Health Group	2.5	10,269	Special Needs Plan contract
Aetna Medicare	H4982	Aetna Better Health of California Inc.	2.5	9,358	Yes — below 3 stars three years running
eternalHealth	H2694	Eternalhealth, Inc.	2.5	6,079	—
Gold Kidney Health Plan	H4869	Gold Kidney of Arizona	2.5	6,061	Special Needs Plan contract

The bottom of the scale is mostly small plans and Special Needs Plans. Two exceptions are worth knowing because they are large and sold to the general Medicare population (the full list is on the worst-plans page): CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield's PPO contract H7379 with 47,606 members, and Blue Shield of California's H4937 with 46,821, both at 2.5 stars ^[2,3].

Medicare's Plan Finder marks the four low-performing contracts with a warning icon: ATRIO Health Plans H3814, Aetna Better Health of California H4982, HealthSpring H7389 and Nascentia Health Plus H9066 ^[2].

4. Who got worse this year

Contracts that lost half a star or more between 2026 and 2027, largest first ^[2,4,3]. Everyone enrolled in one keeps the plan unless they switch during open enrollment.

Brand	Contract	Legal name	2026 → 2027	Members, Oct 2026
Aetna Medicare	H5521	Aetna Life Insurance Company	4.5 → 4	1,040,762
UnitedHealthcare	H0609	Unitedhealthcare Benefits of Texas, Inc.	4.5 → 4	753,515
UnitedHealthcare	H2802	Unitedhealthcare of the Midlands, Inc.	4 → 3.5	411,301
UnitedHealthcare	H1045	Preferred Care Partners, Inc.	4.5 → 4	397,081
HealthSpring	H4513	Healthspring Life & Health Insurance Company, Inc.	4.5 → 3.5	387,988
Healthfirst Medicare Plan	H3359	Healthfirst Health Plan, Inc.	4.5 → 3.5	359,161
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota	H5959	BCBSM, Inc.	4.5 → 4	282,168
UnitedHealthcare	H1889	Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Co.	4 → 3.5	265,678
UnitedHealthcare	H0543	UHC of California	4 → 3	249,748
Alignment Health Plan	H3815	Alignment Health Plan	4 → 3.5	225,609
UnitedHealthcare	H5322	Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Co.	4 → 3.5	218,576
Aetna Medicare	H3959	Aetna Health Inc. (PA)	4 → 3.5	205,661

More contracts lost ground than gained it. Of the 468 contracts rated in both years, 183 fell, 88 rose and 197 held, and 10,933,951 members are in a contract rated lower for 2027 ^[2,4,3]. The largest single fall by members is Aetna's H5521, its biggest contract, from 4.5 to 4 with 1,040,762 people in it ^[2,4,3]. HealthSpring's H4513 and Healthfirst's H3359 each lost a full star ^[2,4,3].

Some of this is the method rather than the plans. CMS added measures for 2027 and gave the two surveys on whether members' health improved or held steady three times their old weight ^[1]. A plan that did exactly what it did last year could still lose half a star. That is a reason to read a drop carefully, not a reason to ignore it, since the rating on Plan Finder is the one every shopper sees.

5. The five-star plans, and why most people cannot buy one

The 15 contracts rated five stars for 2027, largest first, with each one's 2026 rating ^[1]. Most are regional: MCS Classicare and Triple-S sell in Puerto Rico, and Longevity Health's are Special Needs Plans, which only people who qualify can join.

Brand	Contract	Legal name	Members, Oct 2026	2026 rating
MCS Classicare	H5577	MCS Advantage, Inc.	360,519	5 stars
Clover Health	H5141	Clover Insurance Company	155,135	4.5 stars
Triple S Advantage	H5774	Triple S Advantage, Inc.	120,943	4.5 stars
UnitedHealthcare	H0710	Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Co.	45,252	4.5 stars
Leon Health, Inc.	H4286	Leon Health, Inc.	40,630	5 stars
Kaiser Permanente	H2960	Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Nevada	22,016	5 stars
Peak Health	H8947	Peak Health Insurance Corporation	12,789	4.5 stars
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP	H6988	Anthem Hp, LLC	9,636	5 stars
UnitedHealthcare	H2292	Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Co.	8,859	4.5 stars
UnitedHealthcare	H5652	Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company, Inc.	6,996	5 stars
Longevity Health Plan	H7557	Longevity Health Plan of Michigan, Inc.	1,354	not rated
Longevity Health Plan	H9942	Longevity Health Plan of New Jersey Insurance Comp	1,126	5 stars
Longevity Health	H9590	Longevity Health Plan of Illinois, Inc.	985	5 stars
Longevity Health Plan	H5374	Longevity Health Plan of North Carolina, Inc.	904	5 stars
Longevity Health Plan	H1644	Longevity Health Plan of Florida, Inc.	818	not rated

Fifteen contracts are rated five stars for 2027, down from 22 ^[1]. They hold 787,962 members, and 81% of them are in just three contracts: MCS Classicare and Triple-S, both in Puerto Rico, and Clover Health ^[2,3]. UnitedHealthcare has three small five-star contracts, Kaiser one in Nevada and Anthem one.

Outside those markets the realistic target is 4.5 stars, where 65 contracts and 11,469,570 members sit ^[2,3]. A five-star plan also lets you switch into it once at any time of year, under a CMS special enrollment period, which is worth knowing if one is sold where you live. Where each five-star contract is licensed is on the five-star plans page.

6. The whole scale

How the 508 rated contracts and their members fall across the scale for 2027 ^[2,3]^[1].

Rating	Contracts	Members, Oct 2026	Share of members
5 stars	15	787,962	2.2%
4.5 stars	65	11,469,570	32.7%
4 stars	108	12,549,695	35.8%
3.5 stars	164	6,912,741	19.7%
3 stars	124	3,071,009	8.8%
2.5 stars	31	282,645	0.8%
2 stars	1	3,893	0.0%

Weighted by members, the average rating barely moved, from 4.01 for 2026 to 3.99 for 2027 ^[1]. The movement is in the tails: fewer five-star contracts, more at 3 and 2.5. Averages hide geography, too: in Rhode Island 35% of members are in a four-star contract and in Utah 97% ^[2,5]. Every state is ranked in the states with the worst Medicare Advantage plans. To find one contract, use the 2027 star ratings lookup.

The full table of every Medicare Advantage contract, with its 2027 and 2026 ratings, its Part C and Part D summaries, its parent organisation and its October 2026 enrollment, is available as a CSV from our data page, after a short form: all 687 contracts. It includes the contracts CMS did not rate, marked blank.

7. Limits

Ratings are per contract, and a contract can include dozens of plans in several states, so the number on this page is the same for a $0-premium HMO and a richer PPO sold under the same contract. Member counts are October 2026 and include people in employer-group and Special Needs plans, who cannot all buy the same plans you can. Some contracts rated here will close or merge before January. And stars say nothing about price, network or drug coverage. For what marketplace plans cost under 65, see the best and worst marketplace plans.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Medicare Advantage plan for 2027?

By insurer, Kaiser Permanente: all of its 2,074,678 members are in contracts rated four stars or more for 2027, and its member-weighted average is 4.48 ^[2,3]. Among insurers that sell nationally, Humana is best, with 95% of members at four stars or better. By single contract, 15 are rated five stars, but most of their members are in Puerto Rico plans or Special Needs Plans ^[2,3]. The best plan for you also depends on whether your doctors are in its network and what it charges, which the rating does not measure.

What are the worst Medicare Advantage plans?

The lowest-rated contract for 2027 is Verda Health Plan of Texas at 2 stars, followed by 31 contracts at 2.5 stars ^[2,3]. The largest of those are CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield's PPO contract H7379 and Blue Shield of California's H4937. By insurer, Wellcare (Centene) is worst among the big ones, with 10% of its members in a four-star contract ^[2,3]. Four contracts carry CMS's warning for scoring below three stars three years in a row ^[2].

How do I find the star rating of my own plan?

Your plan ID is printed on your member card and plan documents, and it starts with a letter and four digits, such as H5521-001. That first part, H5521, is the contract. Every plan in a contract carries the contract's rating, so find that number in the 2027 star ratings lookup. Medicare's Plan Finder shows the same rating beside each plan.

How many Medicare Advantage plans have 5 stars in 2027?

Fifteen contracts, down from 22 for 2026 ^[1]. They hold 787,962 members between them, about 2% of people in a rated plan ^[2,3].

Why did so many plans lose stars this year?

Partly because the rules changed. CMS added new measures for 2027 and tripled the weight of two survey measures on whether members' physical and mental health improved or held steady ^[1]. Cut points are also reset every year against how all plans performed, so a plan can do the same work and lose a star. 183 contracts dropped and 88 rose ^[2,4,3].

Can I switch if my plan lost stars?

Yes, during open enrollment, which runs from 15 October to 7 December 2026 for coverage starting 1 January 2027 ^[1]. Outside that window you generally have to wait for the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period from January to March, or qualify for a special enrollment period.

Sources

Every figure on this page is footnoted to one of the primary documents below. Reliability tiers: A = regulator, court or filed document; B = reputable publisher or carrier official page; C = user-generated (reported by users).

1.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Fact sheet — 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings, 8 October 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-2027-ma-part-d-star-ratings-october-8-2026.pdfTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-10-08 · Accessed 2026-10-18
2.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — 2027 Part C and D Star Ratings data tables (Summary Ratings, Low Performing and High Performing Contracts, Domain and Measure Stars), 8 October 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/2027-star-ratings-data-tables-oct-8-2026.zipTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-10-08 · Accessed 2026-10-18
3.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Monthly Enrollment by Contract, October 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/monthly-enrollment-contract-october-2026.zipTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-10-15 · Accessed 2026-10-18
4.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — 2026 Part C and D Star Ratings data tables, Summary Ratings as updated 22 July 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/2026-star-ratings-data-tables.zipTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-07-22 · Accessed 2026-10-18
5.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Monthly MA Enrollment by State/County/Contract, October 2026 (abridged version, rows of 10 or fewer enrollees excluded). https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/ma-enrollment-state-county-contract-october-2026-abridged-version-exclude-rows-10-or-less-enrollees.zipTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-10-15 · Accessed 2026-10-18

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States With the Worst Medicare Advantage Plans in 2027, RankedIn Rhode Island only 35% of Medicare Advantage members are in a 4-star plan; in Utah, 97%. Every state ranked on CMS's 2027 Star Ratings, weighted by enrollment.