Best Medicare Advantage Plans in Colorado (2027)

Kaiser Permanente provides the best Medicare Advantage plans in Colorado, and UnitedHealthcare is a close second. UnitedHealthcare has a median max annual cost exposure, or a year of premiums plus the out-of-pocket limit, of $5,350, and Kaiser’s is $5,368. Kaiser ranks first because its plans reach four more counties for a median $18 more a year.

Six of the seven reviewed carriers have a median CMS star rating of 4 on Medicare’s 1-to-5 quality scale, so which carriers sell plans in your county matters more than their ratings. Humana and Devoted Health sell in the most counties, at median cost exposures $850 to $1,325 above UnitedHealthcare’s. Beyond Kaiser’s 17 counties, compare those two with Aetna Medicare’s $5,900 median.

Most Colorado Medicare Advantage plans charge no monthly premium, so the out-of-pocket limit, the most a plan makes you pay for covered in-network care in a year, decides your costs. Medicare Advantage plans are private plans that replace Original Medicare, the government’s Part A hospital and Part B medical coverage.

Nine of Colorado’s 10 carriers receive a MoneyGeek score, and seven are reviewed below. Perennial Advantage is too new for CMS quality data, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and HealthSpring scored below the review cutoff. To see any doctor who takes Medicare, keep Original Medicare and add a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, which helps pay the deductibles and copays that Original Medicare leaves.

The best Medicare Advantage plan in Colorado depends on your health care needs, preferred providers, prescriptions and expected costs for the year.

Premiums rarely change what Colorado Medicare Advantage members pay, since the median plan of every type charges $0. The out-of-pocket limit does. HMO-POS plans have the lowest median limit, $1,725 below standard HMOs, even though they add some out-of-network coverage.

Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare sell 18 of Colorado’s 20 HMO-POS plans, so most of those savings are available only in their Denver-area and Front Range counties. Residents there should price an HMO-POS first. Elsewhere, the median PPO limit is $350 above the median HMO limit, a small difference for coverage of doctors outside the network.

*Median cost figures across all 61 Colorado Medicare Advantage plans, excluding Special Needs Plans, grouped by plan type. Dollar figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Source: CMS 2027 data, MoneyGeek analysis.

Colorado residents can get free counseling, compare plans and find financial assistance to help manage Medicare costs through these state and federal resources:

• Colorado Division of Insurance: Provides information on Medicare coverage, consumer protections and insurance regulations in Colorado.
• Colorado SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): Gives free, unbiased counseling to help Medicare beneficiaries understand plan options, enrollment periods and coverage questions.
• Medicare.gov Plan Finder: Lets you compare Medicare Advantage plans available in your ZIP code, including costs, CMS star ratings, prescription drug coverage and benefits.
• Colorado Medicare Savings Programs: Helps eligible residents pay certain Medicare premiums and other out-of-pocket costs.

MoneyGeek evaluated 61 Colorado Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, excluding Special Needs Plans, across 10 carriers, 17 CMS contracts and 64 counties. Five CMS data sources underlie the ratings: the Medicare Plan Landscape File, Plan Benefit Package files, CMS Star Ratings, the CAHPS Report Card Master Table and the Contract/Plan Enrollment file.   

Special Needs Plans are excluded from all ratings. Colorado has 64 counties, so the minimum county threshold is 4, or 5% of the state. All 10 carriers meet that bar.   

Perennial Advantage has no CMS star rating or CAHPS data for its Colorado contract and isn’t featured in the provider reviews above.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and HealthSpring each cleared the county threshold and qualified on all three scoring pillars. Both scored below the level for a provider review and aren’t featured above.

How We Score Carriers

Nine carriers receive an overall score out of five. Carrier-level scores are medians across each carrier’s Colorado plans, with CMS star ratings and CAHPS scores as plan-weighted medians. Three categories determine each score:   

• Affordability (40%): Maximum annual cost exposure, or a year of premiums plus the out-of-pocket limit, carries 20% of the overall score. Inpatient hospital copays carry 10%, specialist copays 6% and primary care copays 4%.
• Quality and Member Experience (40%): Within this category, CMS star ratings hold 60% of the weight and CAHPS Rating of Health Plan scores hold 40%, both at the contract level.
• Benefits and Access (20%): Supplemental dental, OTC, vision and hearing benefits carry 50% of this category. County coverage holds 30% and plan choice per county holds 20%.