North Carolina · 2026 plan year

Medicare Advantage HMO plans in North Carolina

There are 119 Medicare Advantage HMO plans in North Carolina from 16 carriers, averaging 4.22 out of 5 stars across the 111 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.

119
HMO plans
16
Carriers
100
Counties covered
4.2
Avg stars (111 of 119 rated)
$6,856
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.

North Carolina has 22 five-star Medicare Advantage HMO plans.

Of the 119 HMO plans here, 22 carry CMS's top overall rating of 5 stars and 97 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.

North Carolina HMO plans rate well above the national average.

Averaged across the 111 rated plans here, HMO coverage in North Carolina scores 4.22 stars against a national median of 3.82 for this plan type — 3rd 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 North Carolina

Showing 5 of 119. See all North CarolinaMedicare Advantage plans →

Who sells here

HMO plans by carrier

CarrierPlansAvg starsSNPs
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealth Group, Inc.244.06
Cigna HealthCareHealth Care Service Corporation174.02
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North CarolinaCuraCor Solutions Corp.154.01
HumanaHumana Inc.154.15
Devoted HealthDevoted Health, Inc.115.08
Aetna MedicareCVS Health Corporation104.54
Alignment Health PlanAlignment Healthcare USA, LLC105.03
WellcareCentene Corporation43.53
Liberty Medicare AdvantageLiberty Healthcare Insurance33
Provider Partners Health PlansRifkin Managed Care Holding, LLC33
Troy MedicareTroy Holdings, Inc.23.01
AmeriHealth Caritas VIP CareIndependence Health Group, Inc.11
Other plan types in North Carolina

How HMO compares

All North CarolinaMedicare Advantage plans →

Nearby on quality

States with similar HMO star ratings

Common questions

North Carolina Medicare Advantage HMO plans, answered

How much do Medicare Advantage HMO plans cost in North Carolina?
Of the North Carolina HMO plans with a published premium, 96% 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 $6,856 across these plans.
What are the star ratings for North Carolina HMO plans?
The 111 rated HMO plans in North Carolina average 4.22 out of 5 stars, with 97 rating 4 or better and 22 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 North Carolina?
There are 119 HMO plans from 16 carriers, sold across 100 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. 43 of them are Special Needs Plans with extra eligibility rules (see below).
Do North Carolina HMO plans include prescription drug coverage?
119 of the 119 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 North Carolina?
43 of the 119 HMO plans in North Carolina 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 North Carolina Medicare Advantage plans.

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