Best Medicare Advantage Plans in Vermont (2027)

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Updated: November 5, 2026

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Best Medicare Advantage Companies in Vermont

Humana provides the best Medicare Advantage plans in Vermont because it’s the only insurer selling them for 2027. Its five plans reach six of Vermont’s 14 counties, so residents of the other eight can’t buy a Medicare Advantage plan at all.

Humana’s median max annual cost exposure is $7,150, which is yearly premiums plus the out-of-pocket limit, the most you’d pay for in-network care in a year. Set aside $596 a month for a heavy-care year, and check which of the five plans sell in your county before comparing costs.

Humana
4
$7,150
4
6
5

Vermont Medicare Advantage Market Overview

Vermont’s 2027 Medicare Advantage market has one insurer, Humana, and five plans. Medicare Advantage plans are Medicare-approved private alternatives to Original Medicare, the federal program of Part A hospital and Part B medical coverage. All five plans are PPOs, which pay part of the bill for out-of-network providers who accept Medicare.

In the six counties Humana serves, the median county has four plans. The other eight counties have none. Residents there can stay on Original Medicare and add a Medicare Supplement plan, private coverage that helps pay the copays, coinsurance and deductibles Original Medicare leaves behind. Every Vermont plan holds at least 4 stars, so compare plans on cost first.

Non-SNP MA plans
5

Vermont has 5 Medicare Advantage (MA) plans open to all enrollees, excluding Special Needs Plans (SNPs), and one carrier offers all of them. The county you live in determines your exact options within that pool, so verify availability at your address.

Carriers
1

One carrier offers all MA plans in Vermont. All five plans share that carrier’s network, so compare them by premium, out-of-pocket maximum (MOOP) and covered benefits.

CMS contracts
2

Vermont has 2 CMS contracts, both from the same carrier. Each contract has its own star rating, so check which one your plan belongs to.

Median plans per county
4

Among the six counties with MA coverage, the median county has 4 plans. Compare them by premium, MOOP and benefit package before you enroll.

Plans with $0 premium
80%

80% of Vermont MA plans carry no monthly premium. HumanaChoice H5216-473 charges $33 a month, so confirm the monthly cost before selecting a plan.

Median MOOP
$7,150
Vermont’s median MA plan caps annual in-network cost sharing at $7,150.
MOOP range
$4,950–$9,850

Vermont’s out-of-pocket maximums range from $4,950 to $9,850. Your plan choice alone can move your yearly cap by $4,900.

Average star rating
4.10

Vermont’s market average is 4.10 on Medicare’s five-star scale. Each of Vermont’s two contracts has its own rating, so look up both before comparing plans.

Contracts rated 4+ stars
100%

Both of Vermont’s contracts reach 4 stars or above. Every Vermont plan belongs to a contract rated 4 stars or higher.

Humana

Humana

MoneyGeek Rating
4/ 5
4/5Affordability
4.1/5Quality & Member Experience
4/5Benefits & Access

  • Median Max Annual Cost Exposure

    $7,150

  • Median CMS Star Rating

    4

  • Counties Served

    6

  • Plans Available

    5

How to Choose the Best Vermont Medicare Advantage Plan

Four of Humana’s five Vermont PPO plans charge $0 premiums, and HumanaChoice H5216-473 charges $33 a month. Your county sets which plans you can buy. From there, weigh each plan’s out-of-pocket maximum against the dental and vision benefits you’ll use.

  1. 1
    Confirm Your Doctors and Hospitals Are In-Network

    Vermont’s Humana PPO plans cover out-of-network providers who accept Medicare, though you’ll usually pay more than you would in-network. Before enrolling, confirm your doctors are in Humana’s Medicare Advantage network. Many doctors who accept Original Medicare haven’t contracted with Humana.

  2. 2
    Compare Full Annual Costs

    Four of Vermont’s five plans charge $0 monthly premiums beyond Part B. Your annual cost depends on copays, inpatient stays and how much of your out-of-pocket maximum you reach during the year.

  3. 3
    Check Prescription Drug Coverage

    Check each plan’s formulary, which lists covered medications, to confirm your prescriptions are included. Drug tier placement, which sets your copay per prescription, affects your total annual costs. So does any requirement for advance plan approval before filling.

  4. 4
    Understand the PPO Plan Structure

    Vermont’s only Medicare Advantage plan type for 2027 is the PPO. These plans don’t require a referral to see a specialist, so you can book appointments directly without going through a primary care doctor first.

  5. 5
    Review Star Ratings and Quality Metrics

    Vermont’s plans carry 4-star or 4.5-star ratings on Medicare’s five-star quality scale. HumanaChoice Giveback H7617-046 holds the 4.5-star rating and covers three counties. Humana’s other four plans hold 4 stars.

  6. 6
    Compare Extra Benefits

    The Humana USAA Honor Giveback ($2,000) and HumanaChoice H5216-473 ($3,000) are Vermont’s only plans with dental coverage. All five plans include a vision allowance of $100 to $250. Pick the plan whose extra benefits match your care habits.

  7. 7
    Check Out-of-Pocket Maximums

    Vermont’s plans cap annual out-of-pocket costs between $4,950 on the Humana USAA Honor Giveback and $9,850 on HumanaChoice H5216-474. For anyone with regular specialist visits or planned procedures, the Honor Giveback costs $4,900 less than HumanaChoice H5216-474 in a year when you reach the out-of-pocket maximum.

How Much Does Medicare Advantage Cost in Vermont?

Four of Vermont’s five Medicare Advantage plans charge no monthly premium, so your yearly cost depends on how much care you use. Hospital stays cost the most. A five-day admission at the median $445 daily copay, the flat fee per hospital day, adds $2,225, more than 55 specialist visits at the median $40 copay.

Paying a premium can lower your yearly total. HumanaChoice H5216-473 charges $33 a month, yet its premiums plus out-of-pocket limit come to $6,300. The median plan’s total is $7,150, or $850 more. Anyone expecting surgery or a hospital stay in 2027 should rank plans by out-of-pocket limit before premium.

Median Monthly Premium
$0
Median Max Out-of-Pocket
$7,150
Median Inpatient Copay
$445
Median PCP Copay
$15
Median Specialist Copay
$40

*Median cost figures across all 5 non-SNP Vermont MA plans, grouped by plan type. All dollar figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Source: CMS 2027 data, MoneyGeek analysis.

Vermont Medicare Advantage Resources

Vermont residents can get free counseling and find financial assistance through these state and federal resources.

  • Vermont SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): Vermont’s free, unbiased counseling program connects Medicare beneficiaries with trained advisors. Counselors can compare Medicare Advantage plans side by side and walk you through enrollment deadlines.
  • Medicare.gov Plan Finder: The official federal tool for comparing Medicare Advantage plans in your Vermont county, including premiums, out-of-pocket limits, drug coverage and CMS star ratings.
  • Vermont Department of Financial Regulation: Vermont's insurance regulator. Use it to verify that a carrier or plan is licensed to operate in the state or to file a complaint.
  • Social Security Administration: Processes Medicare enrollment for most Vermont residents, including first-time enrollment and premium payment setup.
  • Medicare Savings Programs: State programs that help Vermont residents with income up to 202% of the federal poverty level pay Medicare Part B premiums, and some also cover deductibles and copays.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Our Methodology

Vermont’s 2027 Medicare Advantage market includes five plans from one carrier across two CMS contracts and 14 counties. A CMS contract is the agreement under which an insurer sells a group of plans. We based our ratings on five CMS datasets, which are the Medicare Plan Landscape File, Plan Benefit Package files, CMS Star Ratings, the CAHPS Report Card Master Table and the Contract/Plan Enrollment file.

All ratings exclude Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which only people with certain conditions or Medicaid eligibility can join. Vermont has 14 counties, so a carrier must serve at least three to be scored. Humana serves six.

How We Score Carriers

Vermont has one scored carrier for 2027. Its MoneyGeek score uses the median of each scoring input across its five Vermont plans, with CMS Star Ratings and CAHPS scores as plan-weighted medians. With only one eligible carrier, affordability and benefits scores use a 4.0 to 5.0 scale. Three categories build the score:

  • Affordability (40%): Maximum annual cost exposure, measured as annual premiums plus the maximum out-of-pocket limit, carries 20%. Inpatient hospital costs carry 10%, specialist costs 6% and primary care costs 4%.
  • Quality and Member Experience (40%): This category pulls from two contract-level sources, CMS Star Ratings at 60% and Rating of Health Plan scores from the CAHPS survey (Medicare’s member experience survey) at 40%.
  • Benefits and Access (20%): Supplemental dental, over-the-counter (OTC), vision and hearing benefits cover 50% of this category. County coverage carries 30% and plan choice per county carries 20%.

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick, Licensed P&C Insurance Expert, MoneyGeek

Mark Fitzpatrick is a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer and MoneyGeek's resident expert in insurance and economics. In nearly a decade covering the insurance market at LendingTree and MoneyGeek, he's analyzed hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.

His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR. He draws on independent cost and consumer experience data, and no insurance company partnerships affect his recommendations.

Mark studied at Boston College and later earned a master's in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University. He worked in financial risk management at State Street before joining MoneyGeek. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

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