Iowa · 2026 plan year

Medicare Advantage HMO plans in Iowa

There are 47 Medicare Advantage HMO plans in Iowa from 12 carriers, averaging 4.15 out of 5 stars across the 37 plans CMS has rated. Nearly all charge no monthly plan premium, so what separates them is network, drug coverage and how much you could owe in a bad year.

47
HMO plans
12
Carriers
99
Counties covered
4.2
Avg stars (37 of 47 rated)
$7,048
Avg out-of-pocket max
A $0 plan premium is not a free plan. You still pay your Part B premium to Medicare, plus copays and coinsurance as you use care. Star ratings are published by CMS per contract, so every plan a carrier files under the same contract shares one rating — it describes the carrier’s performance, not this specific plan’s benefits. Estimate your real costs.

Iowa has 3 five-star Medicare Advantage HMO plans.

Of the 47 HMO plans here, 3 carry CMS's top overall rating of 5 stars and 32 rate 4 or above. That matters beyond quality: a 5-star plan can be joined at almost any point in the year through a special enrollment period, rather than only during the autumn window.

Iowa HMO plans rate well above the national average.

Averaged across the 37 rated plans here, HMO coverage in Iowa scores 4.15 stars against a national median of 3.82 for this plan type — 5th highest of 49 states. Star ratings measure the contract's performance on care quality, member experience and complaints.

Not sure whether Medicare Advantage suits you at all? Medicare Advantage vs Original Medicare covers the trade in plain language.

Highest rated

Top-rated HMO plans in Iowa

Showing 5 of 47. See all IowaMedicare Advantage plans →

Who sells here

HMO plans by carrier

CarrierPlansAvg starsSNPs
Quartz Medicare Advantage (HMO)University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clincs Autho84.0
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealth Group, Inc.84.01
MediGoldTrinity Health Corporation64.5
Aetna MedicareCVS Health Corporation54.41
WellcareCentene Corporation43
Wellmark Advantage Health PlanBlue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Ins. Co.4
Devoted HealthDevoted Health, Inc.35.01
Great Plains Medicare AdvantageSanford Health22
Iowa Health AdvantageMitchell Family Office24.52
Passport AdvantageMolina Healthcare, Inc.23.52
WellpointElevance Health, Inc.23.02
HumanaHumana Inc.13.5
Other plan types in Iowa

How HMO compares

All IowaMedicare Advantage plans →

Nearby on quality

States with similar HMO star ratings

Common questions

Iowa Medicare Advantage HMO plans, answered

How much do Medicare Advantage HMO plans cost in Iowa?
Of the Iowa HMO plans with a published premium, 83% charge $0 a month. A $0 premium does not mean the plan is free: you still pay your Part B premium to Medicare, plus copays and coinsurance as you use care. The number that actually caps a bad year is the in-network out-of-pocket maximum, which averages $7,048 across these plans.
What are the star ratings for Iowa HMO plans?
The 37 rated HMO plans in Iowa average 4.15 out of 5 stars, with 32 rating 4 or better and 3 rating a full 5. CMS rates a contract rather than an individual plan, so every plan a carrier files under the same contract shares one score. A contract that is too new or has too little data is not rated at all, which is different from rating badly.
How many Medicare Advantage HMO plans are available in Iowa?
There are 47 HMO plans from 12 carriers, sold across 99 counties. Availability is set by county, so the plans you can actually join depend on where you live — the full list is rarely available in any one place. 14 of them are Special Needs Plans with extra eligibility rules (see below).
Do Iowa HMO plans include prescription drug coverage?
47 of the 47 HMO plans here bundle Part D drug coverage into the plan. That is the usual arrangement for Medicare Advantage and there is no separate drug premium for it — the plan premium covers both. If you join a Medicare Advantage plan without drug coverage, you generally cannot add a standalone Part D plan alongside it.
What is a Special Needs Plan, and are there any in Iowa?
14 of the 47 HMO plans in Iowa are Special Needs Plans. SNPs limit enrollment to people who also have Medicaid, live in a nursing home or similar institution, or have a qualifying chronic condition. They often carry richer benefits for that group, but if you do not meet the criteria you cannot join one — so the real number of plans open to you may be lower than the total.

A $0 premium is not the whole cost.
See what a year really looks like.

Simplivera models your actual annual costs across Iowa Medicare Advantage plans.

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