United States · Medicare Advantage · Five-star plans

Which Medicare Advantage Plans Have 5 Stars for 2027?

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

Fifteen contracts, down from 22 for 2026 [1]. Each contract can include several plans, all of which carry the five stars.

By Best Worst Insurance Editorial TeamUpdated October 18, 2026

Fifteen Medicare Advantage contracts are rated five stars for 2027, seven fewer than for 2026 ^[1]. Between them they had 787,962 members in October 2026, about 2% of people in a rated plan, and 81% of those members are in three contracts: MCS Classicare and Triple-S in Puerto Rico, and Clover Health ^[2,3]. So for most people on the mainland a five-star plan is either not sold where they live or is a Special Needs Plan they may not qualify for. Below is every five-star contract with the states it is licensed in, and the twelve largest 4.5-star contracts, which is where most people will find the best plan they can actually buy.

Best Worst Insurance Key Takeaways

15 contracts are rated five stars for 2027, down from 22 ^[1].
MCS Classicare (H5577) is the largest, with 360,519 members, all in Puerto Rico. Clover Health (H5141) is the largest on the mainland, with 155,135 members and licences in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas ^[2,4].
In Texas, three five-star contracts are licensed: Clover Health H5141 and UnitedHealthcare H0710 and H5652. In Florida, Leon Health H4286, Longevity Health H1644 and the same two UnitedHealthcare contracts ^[2,4].
CMS flags 13 of the 15 as offering Special Needs Plans, which only people with Medicaid, a qualifying condition or a nursing-home stay can join ^[2,4].
The largest 4.5-star contracts are UnitedHealthcare's H2001 (2,250,467 members), Aetna's H5522 and Kaiser Permanente's H0524 in California ^[2,3].

How we know: Ratings are CMS's 2027 overall Star Ratings (8 October 2026); members are CMS's October 2026 enrollment by contract; the states are those in CMS's October 2026 state service-area file, which lists where each contract is licensed to sell for 2026. A contract licensed in a state may not sell a plan in your county, and service areas can change for 2027, so confirm on Medicare Plan Finder. The tables come out of a committed script. Full methodology →

Every five-star Medicare Advantage contract for 2027

Largest first ^[2,4]. "Offers SNPs" is CMS's flag that the contract includes at least one Special Needs Plan; it can still sell general plans too.

Brand	Contract	Members, Oct 2026	2026 rating	Licensed in	Offers SNPs
MCS Classicare	H5577	360,519	5	PR	Yes
Clover Health	H5141	155,135	4.5	GA, NJ, PA, SC, TX	No
Triple S Advantage	H5774	120,943	4.5	PR	Yes
UnitedHealthcare	H0710	45,252	4.5	55 states and territories	Yes
Leon Health, Inc.	H4286	40,630	5	FL	Yes
Kaiser Permanente	H2960	22,016	5	NV	Yes
Peak Health	H8947	12,789	4.5	PA, WV	Yes
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP	H6988	9,636	5	NY	Yes
UnitedHealthcare	H2292	8,859	4.5	NY	Yes
UnitedHealthcare	H5652	6,996	5	CO, FL, KS, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, PA, TX, VA	No
Longevity Health Plan	H7557	1,354	not rated	MI	Yes
Longevity Health Plan	H9942	1,126	5	NJ	Yes
Longevity Health	H9590	985	5	IL	Yes
Longevity Health Plan	H5374	904	5	NC	Yes
Longevity Health Plan	H1644	818	not rated	FL	Yes

1. Why there are fewer five-star plans this year

CMS rated 15 contracts five stars for 2027, against 22 for 2026, 9 for 2025 and 38 for 2024 ^[1]. The count swings because the cut points that decide each measure's stars are reset every year against how all plans performed, and for 2027 CMS added measures and tripled the weight of two health-outcome surveys ^[1]. Several contracts that held five stars last year fell to 3.5, among them UnitedHealthcare's H3256 ^[2,5,3].

2. Where they are sold

The table above lists the states each contract is licensed in. Two things narrow it further. A licence covers a state, but a plan may only be sold in some of its counties. And CMS flags 13 of the 15 as offering Special Needs Plans ^[2,4], which are limited to people who also have Medicaid, have certain chronic conditions or live in a nursing home. Clover Health's H5141 and UnitedHealthcare's H5652 are the two without that flag.

By state, the five-star contracts licensed for 2026 are:

Texas: Clover Health H5141, UnitedHealthcare H0710 and H5652
Florida: Leon Health H4286, Longevity Health H1644, UnitedHealthcare H0710 and H5652
New York: Anthem HP H6988, UnitedHealthcare H0710 and H2292
Georgia: Clover Health H5141, UnitedHealthcare H0710
California: UnitedHealthcare H0710 only

^[2,4]

3. The best plan most people can buy: 4.5 stars

The twelve largest contracts rated 4.5 stars for 2027, with the three states where each has the most members ^[2,3]. 65 contracts hold this rating, with 11,469,570 members ^[2,3].

Brand	Contract	Legal name	Members, Oct 2026	Main states
UnitedHealthcare	H2001	Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company, Inc.	2,250,467	TX, SC, CA
Aetna Medicare	H5522	Aetna Life Insurance Company	1,452,261	PA, IL, NJ
Kaiser Permanente	H0524	Kaiser Foundation Hp, Inc.	1,387,940	CA, NV, AZ
Humana	H7617	Emphesys Insurance Company	1,222,820	FL, TX, AL
Humana	H1036	Humana Medical Plan, Inc.	859,334	FL, NC, MS
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan	H9572	Bcbs of Michigan Mutual Insurance Company	555,892	MI, FL, IN
Humana	H4461	Cariten Health Plan Inc.	392,852	TN, TX, AL
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield	H4036	Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.	369,315	GA, CA, OH
Humana	H0028	Cha HMO, Inc.	323,195	TX, AZ, CO
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield or Highmark Blue S	H3916	Highmark Senior Health Company	240,144	PA, OH, AL
Humana	H1951	Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Inc.	194,426	LA, TX
Priority Health Medicare	H2320	Priority Health	165,395	MI

Sixty-five contracts are rated 4.5 stars, holding 11,469,570 members ^[2,3]. UnitedHealthcare's H2001 is the largest by far, with 2,250,467 members and plans in Texas, South Carolina, California and beyond ^[2,3]. Humana has five of the twelve largest. If no five-star plan is sold in your county, a 4.5-star plan is the top of your market.

4. Five stars and switching

A five-star rating comes with a special enrollment period: you can move into a five-star plan once, at any point from 8 December to the following 30 November, without waiting for open enrollment. It is the only rating that carries that right.

For the other end of the scale see the worst Medicare Advantage plans, and to check any plan, the 2027 star ratings lookup. The insurer ranking is on the Medicare Advantage hub.

Frequently asked questions

How many Medicare Advantage plans have 5 stars in 2027?

Fifteen contracts, down from 22 for 2026 ^[1]. Each contract can include several plans, all of which carry the five stars.

Are there 5-star Medicare Advantage plans in Texas?

Three five-star contracts are licensed in Texas for 2026: Clover Health H5141 and UnitedHealthcare H0710 and H5652 ^[2,4]. Whether one sells a plan in your county, and whether you qualify if it is a Special Needs Plan, is on Medicare Plan Finder. See Medicare Advantage in Texas.

Can I switch to a 5-star plan at any time?

Yes. CMS allows one switch into a five-star plan between 8 December and 30 November of the following year, outside the usual enrollment windows, if one is sold where you live.

Is a 5-star plan always the best choice?

No. The rating measures quality, not cost or networks. A 4.5-star plan with your doctors in network and lower costs can be the better plan for you, and 4.5 is the highest rating most people can buy ^[2,3].

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 — MA and Part D State Service Area, October 2026. https://www.cms.gov/files/zip/state-service-area-october-2026.zipTier A · Regulator / court / filed document · Published 2026-10-15 · Accessed 2026-10-18
5.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