By Paul Barrett, CMIP | The Modern Medicare Agency | Melville, NY 18+ years Medicare-exclusive experience | Licensed in 37 states | 40+ carriers Last updated: July 2026
Los Angeles County has 74 Medicare Advantage plans in 2026, with more than 559,000 residents already enrolled — one of the largest Medicare Advantage markets anywhere in the country. This guide breaks it down honestly: real numbers, every standard plan available, and what actually makes the LA market different from almost anywhere else — starting with two names you’ll see everywhere: Kaiser Permanente and SCAN Health Plan.
I’m independent, I represent more than 40 carriers, so nothing here is written to steer you toward one company. It’s written so you can see the whole picture clearly.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Los Angeles County has 74 traditional Medicare Advantage plans in 2026, and 65 of them — nearly 9 in 10 — charge $0 beyond the standard Part B premium.
- Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage is the single most-enrolled plan in the county by a massive margin: 180,321 members, or roughly 32% of everyone on a standard MA plan in LA. SCAN Classic is a distant second at 83,566.
- LA is an overwhelmingly HMO market: HMO plans account for 83% of all enrollment, a much higher concentration than most East Coast metro markets.
- No plan in LA County currently holds a 5-star CMS rating — the highest tier available is 4 stars, held by 48% of plans, with an average rating of 3.63.
- The average monthly premium across all plan types is just $5.32 — genuinely one of the least expensive major Medicare Advantage markets in the country.
LOS ANGELES MEDICARE ADVANTAGE: FAST FACTS
What You’re Looking At | The 2026 Number |
Total Medicare Advantage plans available | 74 traditional MA plans* |
Plans with a $0 monthly premium | 65 |
Average premium (across all plan types) | $5.32/month |
Average out-of-pocket maximum | $2,428/year |
Average Part D deductible | $230.13/year |
Plans rated 4 stars or higher | 32 (48%) |
Plans not yet rated | 7 (9%) |
Average CMS star rating | 3.63 |
Plan types available | HMO (52 plans), PPO (8 plans), HMO-POS (14 plans) |
Total Medicare Advantage enrollment | 559,063 |
*This 74-plan count reflects standard, non-Special-Needs Medicare Advantage plans. Special Needs Plans are offered separately.
WHY LOS ANGELES LOOKS SO DIFFERENT FROM OTHER BIG METRO MARKETS
If you’ve read our coverage of Brooklyn or Queens, you’ll notice LA’s numbers tell a very different story. In New York City, Medicare Advantage premiums are relatively high (often $30-45/month for HMOs) and the market is genuinely fragmented among many mid-sized carriers. Los Angeles is close to the opposite: an average premium of just $5.32/month, an out-of-pocket maximum averaging a remarkably low $2,428 (against a $9,250 national ceiling), and a market where two organizations — Kaiser Permanente and SCAN Health Plan — dominate enrollment.
The reason comes down to how healthcare is actually delivered here. LA’s biggest plans are built around large, integrated medical groups and staff-model HMOs, where the insurer and the care delivery system are tightly connected (Kaiser Permanente being the clearest example — you’re both insured by Kaiser and treated at Kaiser facilities). That structure tends to produce lower premiums and lower out-of-pocket exposure than the more fragmented network model common in NYC, but it also means your choice of doctor is more tightly tied to which medical group and plan you pick.
HMO | PPO | HMO-POS | |
Total plans | 52 | 8 | 14 |
Beneficiaries enrolled | 463,081 | 16,342 | 79,640 |
Average monthly premium | $2.42 | $17.25 | $9.29 |
$0-premium plans available | 48 | 5 | 12 |
Average out-of-pocket maximum | $2,204 | $5,400 | $1,561 |
Plans without Part D coverage | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Most enrolled plan | Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage LA — 180,321 members | Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO) — 6,448 members | AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-004P — 40,936 members |
LOS ANGELES BY PLAN TYPE
Unlike Brooklyn and Queens, where PPO plans actually beat HMO plans on price, Los Angeles’ HMO plans are the cheapest category by a wide margin — averaging $2.42/month against $17.25 for PPOs. That’s a genuinely different pattern from what we’ve documented in NYC, and it reflects how dominant the large integrated HMO systems are in this specific market.
TOP 3 PLANS BY ENROLLMENT
- r Permanente Senior Advantage LA, Orange Co. (HMO) — 180,321 enrollees, $0 premium, $699 MOOP, $0 Rx deductible
- SCAN Classic (HMO) — 83,566 enrollees, $0 premium, $199 MOOP, $250 Rx deductible
- AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-004P (HMO-POS) — 40,936 enrollees, $0 premium, $800 MOOP, $355 Rx deductible
Kaiser alone accounts for roughly 32% of all standard Medicare Advantage enrollment in LA County — a level of market concentration that’s rare to see anywhere in the country. Combined, Kaiser and SCAN cover nearly half of the county’s entire MA population.
EVERY PPO PLAN IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
| $0 | $6,750 | N/A | |
| Health Plan Name | |||
| Aetna Medicare Eagle | $0 | $6,750 | N/A |
| Aetna Medicare Signature | $0 | $6,350 | $615 |
| Humana USAA Honor Giveback | $0 | $6,750 | N/A |
| Humana USAA Honor Giveback with Rx | $0 | $6,400 | $615 |
| HumanaChoice H5525-075 | $0 | $3,850 | $615 |
| HumanaChoice H5525-074 | $34 | $3,400 | $615 |
| Alignment Health Advantage PPO | $45 | $4,201 | $0 |
| Aetna Medicare Enhanced | $59 | $5,500 | $615 |
TOP HMO PLANS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY (BY ENROLLMENT SIGNIFICANCE)
Health Plan Name | Premium/Mo | MOOP | Rx Deductible |
Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage LA, Orange Co. | $0 | $699 | $0 |
Kaiser Permanente Sr Advantage LA, Orange Value | $0 | $1,999 | $0 |
SCAN Classic | $0 | $199 | $250 |
SCAN MyChoice | $0 | $999 | $250 |
SCAN Venture | $0 | $1,000 | $250 |
SCAN Prime | $20 | $2,499 | $250 |
SCAN Inspired by Women for Women | $15 | $999 | $250 |
Alignment Health My Choice | $0 | $498 | $0 |
Alignment Health Platinum + Instacart | $0 | $499 | $0 |
Blue Shield 65 Plus | $0 | $1,500 | $340 |
Blue Shield Inspire | $0 | $599 | $250 |
Humana Gold Plus H5619-021 | $0 | $410 | $0 |
UCLA Health Medicare Advantage Principal Plan | $0 | $2,499 | $250 |
UCLA Health Medicare Advantage Prestige Plan | $45 | $1,499 | $250 |
LA County has 52 total HMO plans; this table highlights the most locally significant and highest-enrollment options rather than the complete list. Carriers not shown above but also offering LA HMO plans include Astiva Health, Central Health, Clever Care, Molina, Champion, Elite, Imperial, and Wellcare.
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-003P | $0 | $800 | $355 |
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-004P | $0 | $800 | $355 |
AARP Medicare Advantage Giveback from UHC CA-19 | $0 | $800 | $520 |
AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx CA-MA01 | $0 | $4,900 | N/A |
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-44 | $55 | $800 | $355 |
AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-37 | $75 | $800 | $355 |
Aetna Medicare Prime | $0 | $299 | $615 |
Aetna Medicare Prime Extra | $0 | $299 | $615 |
Anthem Prime | $0 | $499 | $0 |
Anthem Select | $0 | $800 | $200 |
Anthem I CareMore Medicare Advantage | $0 | $1,000 | $140 |
Anthem I CareMore Medicare Advantage 2 | $0 | $1,500 | $85 |
Anthem I CareMore Premium Savings | $0 | $1,000 | $115 |
Anthem Medicare Advantage | $0 | $7,550 | $255 |
WHO OFFERS MEDICARE ADVANTAGE IN LOS ANGELES
- Kaiser Permanente — An integrated staff-model HMO where the insurer and care delivery system are the same organization. Its Senior Advantage plan alone covers roughly a third of LA County’s entire MA population.
- SCAN Health Plan — A California nonprofit built specifically around senior-focused, community-based care, with a full family of plan variants (Classic, MyChoice, Venture, Prime, and others) tailored to different needs and budgets.
- Alignment Health — A coordinated-care-focused carrier with an unusually large number of distinct LA-specific plan variants, several offering extras like grocery allowances (its “Instacart” branded plan) and very low out-of-pocket maximums.
- UCLA Health Medicare Advantage — A locally coordinated network option (Principal and Prestige tiers) for beneficiaries who want their coverage tied directly to the UCLA Health system.
- Blue Shield of California, Aetna, Humana, and AARP/UnitedHealthcare — All maintain a meaningful presence across HMO, PPO, and HMO-POS categories, offering more traditional network-based alternatives to the staff-model HMOs.
Rating Category | Number of Plans | Percent of Plans |
5 Stars | 0 | 0% |
4 Stars (includes 5 Stars) | 32 | 48% |
3 Stars | 35 | 52% |
Below 3 Stars | 0 | 0% |
Not Yet Rated | 7 | 9% |
Average Rating | 3.63 |
STAR RATINGS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTYWorth noting directly: no Medicare Advantage plan in Los Angeles County currently holds a 5-star CMS rating. That’s a genuine difference from some other major metro markets — in Brooklyn and Queens, for example, a handful of plans do carry 5-star ratings. In LA, 4 stars is the practical ceiling, and just under half of all plans reach it.
PAUL'S HONEST TAKE
The thing that jumps out most about Los Angeles, compared to every other market I’ve broken down this deeply, is how concentrated it is. Kaiser alone covers roughly a third of the entire county’s Medicare Advantage population — that’s not normal, and it tells you something real about how healthcare actually gets delivered here. If you’re already a Kaiser or UCLA Health patient, your Medicare Advantage decision is genuinely simpler than almost anywhere else, because your care delivery system and your insurance plan are often the same relationship. If you’re not already tied into one of these integrated systems, the decision looks more like what we’ve documented elsewhere — comparing premium, MOOP, and network fit plan by plan. Either way, don’t assume the plan with the most other members enrolled is automatically the right one for you specifically — check that your actual doctors and medical group are the ones tied to whichever plan you’re considering, not just the brand name everyone else seems to have.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
There’s no single best plan — it depends on your doctors, medical group, and health needs. Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage is the most-enrolled plan by a wide margin, largely because Kaiser members are also usually Kaiser patients. Confirm your specific doctors and preferred medical group before assuming the most popular plan is the right fit.
65 of the 74 standard plans have a $0 monthly premium. Across all plan types, the average premium is just $5.32/month — genuinely low compared to many other major metro markets.
Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage covers about 32% of all standard Medicare Advantage enrollment in LA County. Kaiser operates as an integrated staff-model HMO, meaning the insurance plan and the care delivery system (hospitals, medical groups, doctors) are part of the same organization, which tends to produce strong member retention once someone is already a Kaiser patient.
No. As of 2026, no Medicare Advantage plan in Los Angeles County holds a 5-star CMS rating. The highest tier currently available is 4 stars, held by 48% of plans.
Yes — and this is the opposite of what we’ve found in Brooklyn and Queens, NY. In LA, HMO plans average just $2.42/month compared to $17.25/month for PPOs, reflecting how dominant large integrated HMO systems are in this specific market.
UCLA Health offers its own Medicare AdvantagWant a real answer about which Los Angeles plan actually fits your doctors and prescriptions — not just the one with the most other members? Call or text 631-358-5793. No pressure, no cost, just a real answer based on your situation.
e plans (Principal and Prestige tiers) tied to its coordinated network. It’s a strong option specifically for people who want their coverage directly connected to UCLA Health providers and facilities.
