Quick links:

• Average 2024 Costs
• Eligibility & Enrollment
• Finding Top-Rated Plans
• List of Plans Available
  • Plans by Carrier
  • Plans by County
  • Plans by Type
• Local Resources

There are 410 different Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans available in parts of Montana for 2024.¹ Not every plan is available in each county, so it's important to find out which ones are offered where you live.

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare the availability, benefits and costs of Medicare Advantage plans in your area of Montana . Read below to learn more about Medicare in your state.

Average costs of Medicare Advantage in Montana

The average premium for a Medicare Advantage plan in Montana is $3.36 per month for 2024.¹

Individual plan premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs may vary greatly depending on where you live and the plan you have.

You can view the 2024 average Montana Medicare Advantage plan monthly premiums by county listed below in this guide.

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare Medicare Advantage plan costs in your area.

Medicare Eligibility & Enrollment

If you want to enroll in Medicare Advantage in Montana , you must first be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B, often referred to as Original Medicare.

To be eligible for Original Medicare at age 65, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident who has lived in the U.S. for five continuous years.
  
  
• You or your spouse must have worked long enough to be eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits.
  
  
• You or your spouse must be government employees or retirees who have not paid into Social Security but have paid Medicare payroll taxes.

You may also be eligible for Medicare benefits under 65 if:

• You have been receiving Social Security disability benefits or certain Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for at least 24 months.
  
  
• You have ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
  
  
• You have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), and you or your spouse have paid Social Security taxes for a certain length of time.

If you have ESRD, you may be able to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or a Montana Medicare Special Needs Plan (SNP) that is specifically designed to help meet your health care needs.

How to sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan

The first time you may be able to enroll in a Medicare Part C plan in Montana is during your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period (IEP).

Your Medicare IEP starts three months before your 65^th birthday. It includes the month of your 65^th birthday and then continues for another three months after your birthday.

Additional times at which you may sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan include:

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31

If you're already enrolled in a Part C plan, from January 1 to March 31 every year, you may switch Medicare Advantage plans or drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare.

If you return to Original Medicare during this period, you'll be able to join a Medicare standalone prescription drug plan (Medicare Part D).

Fall Medicare Open Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7

From October 15 to December 7 every year, you may enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.

You may also drop your existing Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare.

During the fall open enrollment period (also known as the Annual Enrollment Period or "AEP"), you may also join, switch or drop a Medicare Part D plan.

Medicare Special Enrollment Periods (SEP)

You may potentially be granted a Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) at any time throughout the year for qualifying circumstances.

A licensed insurance agent can help you find out if you qualify for a Medicare Special Enrollment Period.

Top-rated Medicare Advantage Plans in Montana 2024

Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues Star Ratings for all Medicare Advantage plans using a system of one to five stars.

In order for a Medicare Advantage plan to be considered a top-rated plan, it must have four or more stars out of five stars.

36.9% of 2023 Montana Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage were rated four stars or higher.¹

Medicare Advantage plans are rated in the following five categories:

• Preventive care and health maintenance (screenings, tests, vaccines, etc.)
• Management of chronic conditions
• Member experiences and ratings of the plan
• Member complaints, problems receiving services and member retention
• Customer service

The information for the star ratings is gathered from information that is submitted to Medicare, Medicare’s regular monitoring activities and member surveys.

List of Medicare Advantage Plans Available in Montana in 2024

To view a list of plans offered in your part of Montana , you can visit www.medicare.gov or use our plan comparison tool.

Private insurance companies offer Medicare Advantage plans in Montana

Multiple insurance carriers may offer Medicare Advantage plans in Montana , depending on where you live.

Some of the insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage plans in Montana include:

• Humana
• Aetna
• UHC
• Wellcare
• Cigna Healthcare

This is not a comprehensive list of all the insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans where you live. You can visit Medicare.gov to see a full list of insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage plans where you live.

Private insurance companies offer Medicare Advantage plans that may be unique to the plan area they serve.

Call to speak with a licensed insurance agent who can help you compare some of the Medicare Advantage plans that are sold in your area.

When you’re shopping for Medicare Advantage plans in Montana , you can compare plans from several different carriers by using some of the following information:

• The Medicare Star Ratings can give you an idea of a plan’s overall quality.
  
  
• Agencies like A.M. Best, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s can provide information about an insurance company’s credit rating and financial standing.
  
  
• Websites such as the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Reports can teach you about a company’s reputation among its customers.
  
  
• You can read through Medicare Advantage plan reviews and testimonials from customers.

Montana Medicare Advantage plans by county

Learn more about 2024 Montana Medicare Advantage plans by county.

• Beaverhead County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Big Horn County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Broadwater County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Carbon County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Cascade County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Chouteau County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Custer County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Daniels County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Dawson County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Fallon County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Fergus County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Flathead County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Gallatin County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Garfield County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Glacier County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Golden Valley County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Granite County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Hill County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Jefferson County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Judith Basin County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Lake County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Liberty County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Madison County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Meagher County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Mineral County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Missoula County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Musselshell County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Petroleum County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Phillips County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Pondera County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Powder River County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Powell County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Prairie County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Ravalli County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Richland County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Roosevelt County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Rosebud County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Sanders County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Sheridan County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Silver Bow County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Stillwater County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Sweet Grass County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Teton County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Toole County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Treasure County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Valley County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Wheatland County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Wibaux County Medicare Advantage Plans
• Yellowstone County Medicare Advantage Plans

MT Medicare Advantage plans by type

The major types of Medicare Advantage plans include:

• HMO
  A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) usually requires patients to use health care providers and pharmacies that are part of the plan’s network (except in the case of emergencies) while also typically requiring a referral from a primary care doctor in order to see a specialist.
  
  
• PPO
  Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) are able to see providers outside of their plan’s network, often at a higher cost.
  
  Beneficiaries in this type of plan typically pay less out of pocket if they choose to receive medical services from providers within their plan’s network.
  
  PPO plans typically do not require patients to acquire a referral before visiting with a specialist.
  
  
• PFFS
  A Private Fee-For-Service (PFFS) plan determines how much it will pay to health care providers and how much the patient will pay when care is received.
  
  With a PFFS plan, you can typically receive care from any doctor, hospital or health care provider that accepts your plan’s terms. Not all providers will accept these terms, however.
  
  
• SNP
  A Special Needs Plan (SNP) is a type of Medicare Advantage plan limited to people with certain chronic conditions and other specific characteristics.
  
  Typically, you must receive care from health care providers and hospitals within your SNP network, except for in cases when you need emergency or urgent care and when someone who has End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) needs out-of-area kidney dialysis.

Not all of these types of plans may be available in your area. A licensed insurance agent can help you compare the types of 2024 Montana Medicare Advantage plans that are available where you live.

We represent carriers such as Humana, Aetna, UHC, Anthem BCBS, Wellcare, Cigna Healthcare, and Kaiser Permanente.

Local health insurance resources in Montana

• State Health Insurance Program (SHIP)
  State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) offer counseling and assistance to Medicare-eligible people in their local area. SHIP counselors can help Medicare beneficiaries, their loved ones and their caregivers navigate the Medicare program.
  
  Find your local SHIP in Montana .
  
  
• Montana Prescription Drug Assistance Programs
  The state of Montana has a number of programs designed to help with the cost of prescription drugs. There are programs for both Medicare beneficiaries and non-Medicare beneficiaries alike that can cover the cost of premiums and cost-sharing or even lower the cost of the drugs themselves.

1 Freed M, et al. (Nov 10, 2022). Medicare Advantage 2023 Spotlight: First Look. Kaiser Family Foundation. www.kff.org/report-section/medicare-advantage-2023-spotlight-first-look-appendix.

2 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (Sep 26, 2023). Medicare Advantage and Part D State Fact Sheets. www.cms.gov/files/document/2024-ma-part-d-landscape-state-state.pdf.

3 MedicareAdvantage.com analysis of 2024 MA Landscape Source File data provided by CMS. www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/prescription-drug-coverage.