What are the best Medicare Advantage plans in Iowa?

Iowa has 3 five-star rated Medicare Advantage plans out of 75 total plans available. The average star rating across all plans is 3.9 out of 5. Browse by county below to find top-rated plans in your area.

How do Medicare Advantage star ratings work?

CMS rates Medicare Advantage plans on a 1-to-5 star scale based on quality measures including preventive care, chronic disease management, member satisfaction, and customer service. Plans with 4+ stars are considered high quality. In Iowa, the average rating is 3.9 stars.

How much do Medicare Advantage plans cost in Iowa?

The average monthly premium for Medicare Advantage plans in Iowa is $27.65. Premiums vary by county and plan type, many plans offer $0 premiums in exchange for network restrictions. Click a county below to see specific plan costs in your area.

How do I enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan in Iowa?

You can enroll during the Annual Election Period (October 15 - December 7) for coverage starting January 1, or during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 - March 31). Visit Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or contact a licensed Medicare insurance agent in Iowa. You must have Medicare Parts A and B to enroll.

What supplemental benefits do Medicare Advantage plans in Iowa include?

Many Medicare Advantage plans in Iowa include supplemental benefits not covered by Original Medicare, such as dental, vision, hearing, fitness programs, over-the-counter drug allowances, and transportation. Benefits vary by plan, check individual plan details for specific coverage.

Medicare Advantage · State · 2026 plan year

Medicare Advantage in Iowa

Name: Medicare Advantage Plans - Iowa
Creator: PlainMedicare
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2026 plan-year files, 75 plans across 99 counties; find your county to compare every plan available where you live.

Compiled by Plainmedicare · September 1, 2026

75
Plans available: 3.9★
Avg CMS rating: $27.65
Avg premium/mo: 3
5-star plans

The short answer

Iowa ranks #32 of 49 by Medicare Advantage plan inventory (75 plans) but #18 by average CMS star (3.91★).

#32
inventory rank: 75
plans statewide: #18
avg star rank: 3.91★
mean CMS rating

Plan inventory and average star are independent CMS signals; a large catalog is not the same as the highest mean quality score.

Product mix · IA plans_unique

How 43 Iowa plans split by CMS plan type

HMO POS 12 plans (28%) HMO 12 plans (28%) Local PPO 12 plans (28%) MSA 7 plans (16%)

Exclusive CMS plan-type codes for this state's representative plans_unique rows, orthogonal to the star-bucket chart below. Source: CMS landscape, 2026.

County-level service areas

What the CMS data shows for Iowa

Iowa lists MA plans across 99 counties · inventory rank #32/49 · star rank #18/49. According to CMS 2026 plan-year filings, Iowa beneficiaries can choose from 75 distinct Medicare Advantage plans marketed across 99 counties. 3 plans reached the top 5-star tier (year-round Special Enrollment rights for those contracts). County (FIPS) service areas still decide what is sold where you live - open a county below before the October 15 - December 7 Annual Election Period closes.

plans #32/49 · stars #18/49 · 99 counties · avg prem $27.65/mo

Medicare Advantage Quality in Iowa

Iowa offers 75 Medicare Advantage plans across 99 counties. With an average star rating of 3.9 out of 5, Iowa's Medicare Advantage landscape sits close to the national rated-plan average of about 3.9 stars. Confirm premiums and networks on <a class="underline" href="https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener">Medicare.gov Plan Compare</a>.

Where Iowa sits on CMS quality

Average CMS star rating across the state's own Medicare Advantage plans, against every state and territory in the CMS file

3.91★ Top 33% higher than 67% of 49 states and territories

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CMS Medicare Advantage Star Ratings 2026 · 2026-09-01

Counties in Iowa

Click a county to see all Medicare Advantage plans available in your area.

Next: understanding star ratings · choosing a plan.

Note: PlainMedicare provides publicly available CMS data for informational purposes only. This is not medical or insurance advice. Consult a licensed Medicare counselor or insurance agent before making enrollment decisions. Plan availability and premiums change annually, always verify with Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved and formatted by PlainMedicare

Using Iowa's Medicare Advantage market

Plan availability and star ratings vary by county, not just by state.

Iowa beneficiaries can choose from 75 distinct Medicare Advantage plans across 99 counties (#32 of 49 states by plan count) - look up your own county for what's actually sold there. Browse by county
The state's mean CMS star rating ranks #18 of 49 - see how star ratings are built before comparing plans. How star ratings work
Weigh total cost, not just premium: compare plan details using Medicare.gov before you enroll. Medicare Plan Compare

State-level figures average every county's filings; the plans actually sold where you live can differ from the state total.

PlainMedicare is rendered directly from CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D public files, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a correction. Data current as of 2026-09-01.

CMS lists 131,985 Medicare Advantage and Part D plan records in the current public files. PlainMedicare refreshes this registry with each annual release.