AARP Medicare Advantage 2025 Review: Pros, Cons, Costs

AARP Medicare Advantage pros and cons

Our full review

AARP Medicare Advantage star ratings

Average star rating, weighted by enrollment: 3.93

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, which include AARP plans, are rated at about the industry average, receiving an average rating of 3.93 stars out of 5 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2025, weighted by enrollment. For comparison, the average weighted star rating for plans from all providers is 3.95.

CMS maintains its own database of star ratings on every Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug plan, ranging from best (5 stars) to worst (1 star). The agency bases these ratings on plans’ quality of care and measurements of customer satisfaction, and ratings may change from year to year.

You can find a plan’s rating with the Medicare plan finding tool.

What does AARP Medicare Advantage cost?

About two-thirds of AARP Medicare Advantage plans offer $0 premiums^[0]

(Most people pay this standard Part B amount, but if your income is above a certain threshold, you’ll pay the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). Some Medicare Advantage plans will cover part or all of your Part B premium.)

Requirements for copays, coinsurance and deductibles vary depending on your plan, location and the services you use. Other out-of-pocket costs to consider include:

• Whether the plan covers any part of your monthly Medicare Part B premium.

• The plan’s yearly deductibles and any other deductibles, such as a drug deductible.

• Copayments and/or coinsurance for each visit or service. For instance, there may be a $10 copay for seeing your primary doctor and a $45 copay for seeing a specialist.

• The plan’s in-network and out-of-network out-of-pocket maximums.

• Whether your medical providers are in-network or out-of-network or how often you may go out of network for care.

• Whether you require extra benefits and whether the plan charges for them.

Here are examples of AARP Medicare Advantage costs for the most popular plans in a mid-range city:

To get a sense of costs, use Medicare’s website to compare information among available plans in your area. You can select by insurance carrier to see only UnitedHealthcare plans or compare across carriers.

AARP Medicare Advantage plan types

AARP offers HMO and PPO plans as well as stand-alone prescription drug plans.

AARP Medicare Advantage service area

AARP Medicare Advantage plans are available in 47 states and Washington, D.C., and more than 4.4 million people are enrolled in AARP plans^[0]

Overall, UnitedHealthcare is the largest for-profit Medicare Advantage provider. More than 9.4 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan, and the company added more than 478,000 members for the 2024 plan year^[0]

Read the NerdWallet reviews of these other AARP/UnitedHealthcare Medicare offerings:

• AARP/UnitedHealthcare Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap).

• AARP/UnitedHealthcare Medicare Part D prescription drug plans.

AARP customer service

AARP Medicare Advantage members can contact their plan’s customer service (managed by UnitedHealthcare) in the following ways:

• Call the number on your member ID card during the hours of operation listed.

• Chat with a customer service agent online.

• Call the number that loads on your AARP Medicare Plans page (based on location) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in your time zone, 7 days a week.