Best Medicare Advantage Plans in Washington, D.C. (2027)

Aetna Medicare is the best Medicare Advantage insurer in Washington, D.C., with the lowest median cost, $6,750, of any carrier rated 4 stars or more. CMS, the federal Medicare agency, rates care quality and member experience from 1 to 5 stars.

The table’s cost figure adds a year of premiums to the out-of-pocket limit (MOOP), the yearly cap on covered in-network medical bills. It leaves out Part B premiums and drug costs and differs by under $90 a month across carriers.

Choose on quality. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield costs $123 a year less than Aetna but holds 2.5 stars. I’d pay $54 more a month only for Kaiser Permanente’s 4.5 stars.

Washington, D.C., has 11 Medicare Advantage plans from five carriers for 2027, all sold districtwide. Medicare Advantage is private coverage that replaces Original Medicare, the federal Part A hospital and Part B medical program. Medicare Supplement plans work alongside Original Medicare and pay part of its deductibles and copays, the flat fees charged per service.

The count excludes Special Needs Plans, which serve people who have certain chronic conditions, also have Medicaid or live in a care facility. A carrier’s CMS contract is its agreement with Medicare, and CMS rates each contract separately. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s 2.5-star contract and Aetna Medicare’s 3.5-star HMO-POS contract fall below 4 stars.

The right plan depends on your medical needs, what you can spend and how much provider flexibility matters to you.

Washington, D.C.’s median Medicare Advantage premium is $17 a month. Yearly costs depend on care use, since copays add up until you reach the out-of-pocket limit.

PPOs allow more out-of-network care than HMO-POS plans, yet HMO-POS plans have the higher median premium and out-of-pocket limit. Three of the four HMO-POS plans are Kaiser Permanente’s, so those medians mostly reflect Kaiser’s prices. If you want out-of-network access, I’d compare PPOs first.

The HMO column describes one plan, Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Liberty (HMO). Its $0 premium and $5,900 limit tie CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Advantage Salute (PPO) for the district’s lowest worst-case cost.

*Median cost figures across all 11 non-SNP Washington, D.C., Medicare Advantage plans, grouped by plan type across one HMO, four HMO-POS plans and six PPOs. Inpatient copays apply per day for the first four to seven days of a stay, depending on the plan. All dollar figures rounded to the nearest dollar. Source: CMS 2027 data, MoneyGeek analysis.

Washington, D.C., residents can compare plans and get free Medicare counseling through these resources.

• D.C. Department of Aging and Community Living SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): This program offers free one-on-one Medicare counseling at (202) 727-8370. Counselors help Washington, D.C., residents compare plans, appeal denied services and resolve unpaid medical bills.
• D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB): Regulates insurance carriers in Washington, D.C. District residents can use the DISB to verify a carrier’s license or file a complaint about a plan.
• Medicare Plan Finder (Medicare.gov): This federal CMS tool lets district residents compare all Medicare Advantage plans by monthly cost, estimated annual costs, benefits and star ratings.
• Social Security Administration: Social Security enrolls Washington, D.C., residents in Medicare Parts A and B online, by phone or at a local SSA office.
• Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy): This federal program lowers Part D drug costs for people with limited income and resources. Medicare.gov’s latest limits, for 2026, are $23,940 in income and $18,090 in resources for an individual, or $32,460 and $36,100 for a married couple, and they may rise each year. Washington, D.C., residents apply through Social Security.

MoneyGeek rated 11 non-SNP Medicare Advantage plans in Washington, D.C., for 2027, across five carriers and six CMS contracts. The ratings use five CMS data sources, namely the Medicare Plan Landscape File, Plan Benefit Package files, CMS Star Ratings, the CAHPS Report Card Master Table and the Contract/Plan Enrollment file.

SNPs are excluded from the ratings. Each of the five carriers serves all of Washington, D.C., and qualified with complete data for all three scoring categories. Carrier figures are medians across each carrier’s plans, and star and CAHPS figures are plan-weighted medians.

How We Score Carriers

The overall MoneyGeek score for each eligible carrier is out of five, a weighted average of three categories. Affordability and benefits scores are scaled from 3.5 to 5 across the five carriers. Star ratings count at their CMS value, and CAHPS scores convert to a 5-point scale.

• Affordability (40%): Affordability uses four cost inputs. Maximum annual cost exposure, or annual premiums plus the out-of-pocket limit, makes up half the category. Inpatient copays account for 25%, specialist copays for 15% and primary care copays for 10%.
• Quality and Member Experience (40%): This category is 60% CMS Star Ratings and 40% CAHPS Rating of Health Plan scores, both from contract-level data.
• Benefits and Access (20%): Supplemental benefits, including dental, over-the-counter allowances, vision and hearing, hold 50% of this category. County coverage accounts for 30% and plan choice per county for 20%.