bestMedicare AdvantageWashingtonMoneyGeek identified which Medicare Advantage plans are widely available and highly rated in Washington using the five-star quality rating system of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We evaluated the best plans based on plan type, drug coverage and maximum-out-of-pocket (MOOP) limits.
Take note that the basis for our recommendations are generalizations. Consumers should compare plans to find the most suitable for their needs and budget and verify if their nearby hospitals and healthcare providers are within their preferred plan’s network.
MoneyGeek also analyzed the best medicare supplement plans in Washington for those focused on covering out-of-pocket expenses.
bestMedicare AdvantageWashingtonBest Medicare Advantage Plans in Washington
Best plan overall - Aetna Medicare
Best HMO plan - Kaiser Permanente
Best plan without drug coverage - Kaiser Permanente
Best plan for low out-of-pocket costs - Regence BlueShield of Idaho
Best Medicare Advantage Plan in Washington - Overall
A person’s healthcare needs and situation determine the best Medicare Advantage Plan for them. In Washington, MoneyGeek found the Aetna Medicare Choice Plan through Aetna Medicare is the top choice for people looking for a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan with drug coverage, the six common core benefits and a high star rating from the CMS.
A PPO is a flexible health insurance plan that provides access to a broader network of doctors, hospitals and treatment centers. It also doesn’t require a referral to see a specialist. However, such benefits come with more expensive premiums.
Aetna Medicare
MoneyGeek’s study ranked the Aetna Medicare Choice Plan as the best PPO in Washington, although your needs dictate the best plan for you. With the Aetna Medicare Choice Plan, plan holders can expect:
- Monthly premium of approximately $49
- Enhanced drug coverage with no deductible
- In-network max-out-of-pocket limit of $6,200 a year
- CMS overall star rating of 4.5 out of 5
The Aetna Medicare Choice Plan offers six common additional benefits like vision, dental, hearing, fitness, worldwide emergency and telehealth. It has a high rating by the CMS and provides Part D drug coverage. Frequent travelers find its worldwide emergency benefit useful.
Best HMO Medicare Advantage Plan in Washington
The best HMO Medicare Advantage plan in Washington depends on your unique circumstances. MoneyGeek’s top choice is Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key from Kaiser Permanente. It’s great for consumers looking for a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan with drug coverage, at least six core benefits and a high star rating from the CMS.
Generally, an HMO is the most common health insurance plan. It requires plan holders to stay within their network (except in an emergency) and to secure a referral before visiting a specialist. But, its cheap rates offset those limitations, especially if in-network providers are easily accessible.
Kaiser Permanente
MoneyGeek’s pick for people looking for the top HMO plan in Washington is Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key. It includes:
- No monthly premium
- Enhanced prescription drug coverage with a deductible of $100
- An in-network out-of-pocket limit of $6,600 per year
- A perfect CMS overall star rating of 5 out of 5
Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key offers vision, dental, hearing, fitness, worldwide emergency and telehealth benefits — the six common benefits. It also has Part D drug coverage and the highest possible rating from CMS.
But remember, your healthcare situation determines which Medicare Advantage HMO plan is the best in Washington.
Best Medicare Advantage Plan in Washington Without Drug Coverage
For people that don’t need Part D prescription drug coverage in Washington, there are more health insurance plan options.
Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key, an HMO from Kaiser Permanente, is the best Medicare Advantage plan in Washington for people that are only looking for the six core benefits and a high star rating from the CMS, regardless of drug coverage availability.
Kaiser Permanente
MoneyGeek found Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key may be the top choice in Washington for people that don’t need prescription drug coverage in their Medicare Advantage plan. It has the following features:
- No monthly premium
- An in-network max-out-of-pocket limit of $6,600 annually
- A CMS overall star rating of 5 out of 5
Kaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage Key does provide drug coverage, whether you need it or not. It also has six common benefits: vision, dental, hearing, fitness, worldwide emergency and telehealth. Plus, it gets a high rating from the CMS.
Best Medicare Advantage Plan in Washington for Low Max Out-of-Pocket Costs
Many Medicare Advantage plans have a low premium or no premium. However, policyholders can still end up paying thousands of dollars with out-of-pocket costs. That is avoidable by finding a plan with a low max-out-of-pocket or MOOP limit.
MoneyGeek’s analysis shows Regence BlueShield of Idaho’s Regence MedAdvantage + Rx Classic is Washington’s best Medicare Advantage plan with a low in-network MOOP limit. It also has drug coverage, the six core benefits and a high rating from the CMS.
Regence BlueShield of Idaho
Regence MedAdvantage + Rx Classic is MoneyGeek’s top choice for a Medicare Advantage plan in Washington with or without drug coverage. For our analysis, we removed plans with high MOOP limits. Buyers of this plan can expect:
- A monthly premium of around $87
- An in-network MOOP limit of $5,500 a year
- A CMS overall star rating of 4 out of 5
Having a plan with a low MOOP limit can offer protection from high costs for people with a lot of medical expenses in a given year. Regence MedAdvantage + Rx Classic covers all in-network expenses once the policyholder reaches its MOOP limit of $5,500. Because it’s a PPO plan, it has a different MOOP for out-of-network costs — $10,000 annually.
Medicare Advantage Plan in Washington - Statistics
In Washington, consumers looking for Medicare Advantage plans can choose from 18 healthcare organizations. MoneyGeek collected relevant statistics to help people determine whether plan components are rare or common.
1
Washington Medicare Advantage plans are a mix of HMO and PPO, with 82.3% offering drug coverage
Washington’s Medicare Advantage plans are 67% health maintenance organization (HMO) plans. Preferred provider organization (PPO) plans make up the rest at 32.9%. In Washington, 82.3% of the plans have drug coverage.
2
48% of Medicare Advantage plans in Washington have a $0 premium
In Washington, 48% of the available Medicare Advantage plans have a $0 premium. The remaining plans that require premium payments have an average cost of $68.50 per month.
3
Vision, dental, hearing, fitness, worldwide emergency and telehealth benefits are common in Washington, with most plans offering them
The most common benefits from Medicare Advantage plans in Washington, with all plans in the market having them, are vision, dental, hearing, fitness, worldwide emergency and telehealth. The rarest Medicare Advantage benefits in Washington are in-home support, home safety devices and modifications, transportation and emergency response device.
Methodology
MoneyGeek collected data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2022 MA Landscape Source Files released in October 2021. Plans in Washington were filtered down to those that offer drug coverage (unless otherwise noted), offer six of the most common Medicare Advantage coverage benefits and are available to at least 50% of the population of Washington based on county availability.
About Mark Fitzpatrick
