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North Carolina · 2026 plan year

Medicare Advantage PPO plans in North Carolina

There are 67 Medicare Advantage PPO plans in North Carolina from 9 carriers, averaging 3.94 out of 5 stars across the 53 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.

67
PPO plans
9
Carriers
100
Counties covered
3.9
Avg stars (53 of 67 rated)
Varies
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.

14 of North Carolina's PPO plans carry no star rating yet.

CMS rates a contract, not a plan, and does not rate one that is too new or has too little data — so 14 plans here shows no rating at all. Unrated is not the same as badly rated; it usually means a new contract, and those plans have to be judged on benefits and network instead.

North Carolina PPO plans rank 17th of 51 on star rating.

Across the 53 rated plans here the average overall rating is 3.94 stars, 17th highest of the 51 states with PPO plans. Ratings apply to the contract, so every plan a carrier files under one contract shares the same score.

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

Highest rated

Top-rated PPO plans in North Carolina

PlanStarsOut-of-pocket maxPremium / mo
AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC NC-23 (PPO)UnitedHealthcare4.5★—$102
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC NC-0001 (PPO)UnitedHealthcare4.5★—$0
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC NC-0004 (PPO)UnitedHealthcare4.5★—$0
AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx NC-MA01 (PPO)UnitedHealthcare4.5★—$0
Aetna Medicare Eagle Giveback (PPO)Aetna Medicare4.5★—$0

Showing 5 of 67. See all North CarolinaMedicare Advantage plans →

Who sells here

PPO plans by carrier

CarrierPlansAvg starsSNPs
HumanaHumana Inc.163.52
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealth Group, Inc.104.33
Aetna MedicareCVS Health Corporation94.5—
Devoted HealthDevoted Health, Inc.9——
HealthTeam AdvantageRisant Health, Inc.64.5—
Alignment Health PlanAlignment Healthcare USA, LLC5——
WellcareCentene Corporation53.51
Cigna HealthCareHealth Care Service Corporation43.0—
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North CarolinaCuraCor Solutions Corp.34.5—
Other plan types in North Carolina

How PPO compares

HMO
4.2★ avg · 16 carriers
119 plans
PPO
3.9★ avg · 9 carriers
67 plans · you are here

All North CarolinaMedicare Advantage plans →

Nearby on quality

States with similar PPO star ratings

Colorado
3.95★ average
32 PPO plans
Louisiana
3.93★ average
40 PPO plans
Wisconsin
3.93★ average
42 PPO plans
Common questions

North Carolina Medicare Advantage PPO plans, answered

How much do Medicare Advantage PPO plans cost in North Carolina?
Of the North Carolina PPO plans with a published premium, 90% 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 plan's out-of-pocket maximum — check it on each plan, since CMS does not publish it uniformly for PPO plans.
What are the star ratings for North Carolina PPO plans?
The 53 rated PPO plans in North Carolina average 3.94 out of 5 stars, with 28 rating 4 or better. 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 PPO plans are available in North Carolina?
There are 67 PPO plans from 9 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. 6 of them are Special Needs Plans with extra eligibility rules (see below).
Do North Carolina PPO plans include prescription drug coverage?
67 of the 67 PPO 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?
6 of the 67 PPO 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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