Best Medicare Advantage Providers for 2026

One key thing that sets Aetna apart from competitors is plan quality. The vast majority (90%) of Aetna plans are accredited by the NCQA, meaning they support optimal levels of care while also controlling costs. And 38% of those plans have an NCQA star rating over 4.0 out of 5.0. In comparison, most of the other insurers we reviewed had fewer than 15% of plans with a star rating over 4.0.

More than 60% of Aetna’s MA plans with drug coverage charge $0 premiums. Yet when you also look at plans that do have premiums, Aetna only lands about in the middle of the pack. Its average combined Part C and Part D premium is $19, just slightly below the overall insurer average of $22.64. Its average out-of-pocket maximum is $6,673, slightly above the overall insurer average of $6,332.

We like that 67% of Aetna’s plans are Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), which offer larger and more flexible provider networks than their Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) counterparts. 

Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and founded in 1853, Aetna, is now owned by CVS Health. It currently serves over 37 million people, with Medicare Advantage plans accessible to 57 million Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.

Founded in 2013, Alignment Health’s value proposition is that it aims to offer quality, affordable Medicare Advantage plans by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and proprietary data analytics. Investopedia’s 2026 analysis suggests the company is, thus far, succeeding in its mission. 

Alignment’s standard MA plans have the lowest average out-of-pocket maximum ($4,244), monthly Part C premium (37 cents), and consolidated monthly Part C and Part D premium ($8) of the insurers we researched. And its special needs plans were similarly affordable, offering the lowest average out-of-pocket maximum ($6,801) and second-lowest Part D deductible ($439), among all analyzed health insurance companies. 

The company excels when it comes to plan quality, too. Among insurers on this list, Alignment has the highest 3-year average Medicare Star Rating and the second-best score for customer experiences with care, including the ease of accessing needed care, the coordination of care among different providers, and customer service.

Unfortunately, Alignment has limited availability nationwide. Its plans are only available in five states: Arizona, California, North Carolina, Nevada, and Texas. The majority of its plans are also HMOs, which restrict access to out-of-network providers, so check whether your doctor will be available before joining. 

Headquartered in California, Alignment currently services around 217,500 Medicare beneficiaries.

Humana made our “best of” list given its top marks for member experience and overall strong performance against other customer satisfaction metrics. For instance, a majority of its plans (61%) are NCQA-accredited, and it has the highest average 3-year rating for health plan customer service, among top insurers. These are good signs that Humana comes through for its policyholders.

Unfortunately, plan costs run above average, including average out-of-pocket maximums ($6,975) and standard combined premiums ($21.86 per month). Plus, its overall Medicare Star Rating is middling at 3.5. 

However, Humana makes up ground by offering good plan choice, with a majority (56%) of MA plans offering $0 premiums and all of them including dental, vision, and hearing coverage.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Humana had served more than 8.2 million Medicare members as of June 30, 2025, with about 5.8 million enrolled in an MA plan.

Consider HealthSpring if you’re looking for an affordable plan, as it performed well across most cost metrics. In fact, it had the lowest average combined Part C and Part D standard plan premiums ($4.26 per month) and the second-lowest average combined SNP premiums ($4.98) among top insurers. In addition to being affordable, HealthSpring scored highly for member experience, indicating that it prioritizes the care of its policyholders.

On the other hand, most of its plans (63%) are HMOs, which are less expensive than PPOs but offer smaller provider networks. Also, HealthSpring’s overall Medicare Star Rating over a 3-year period is middle-of-the-pack on average.  

HealthSpring is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Cigna Healthcare but changed its name after being acquired by Health Care Service Corporation.

Kaiser Permanente made our list thanks in large part to its affordable Part D coverage, which includes the lowest Part D deductibles for standard and Special Needs Plans, at $2.83 and  $404, respectively. Unfortunately, what ground Kaiser gains with Part D costs, it loses with Part C coverage, given that those premiums ($34 per month) are the highest among all analyzed insurers. 

If you’re willing to absorb the high Part C premiums, there are other reasons to consider the insurer, including a best-in-class member complaint score (meaning customers have fewer complaints about Kaiser than other insurers) and second-highest overall Medicare Star Rating, averaged over three years. 

Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Oakland, California, Kaiser Permanente currently serves around 1.9 million Medicare beneficiaries in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C.