Provider Network Specialist

Kaiser tops U.S. News' best Medicare Advantage list. Kaiser Permanente leads the 2027 list of best Medicare Advantage companies from U.S. News & World Report, with an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5. UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna and Devoted Health round out the top tier, each rated 3.8, according to the ratings published Oct. 14. The ratings matter because they arrive at the start of Medicare's annual open enrollment, which runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, when beneficiaries compare plans. They also offer a second, independently weighted view of insurer quality alongside CMS's Star Ratings released earlier in October. The best Medicare Advantage companies for 2027. U.S. News named five companies as best overall for Medicare Advantage: * Kaiser Permanente: 4.4 * UnitedHealthcare: 3.8 * Humana: 3.8 * Aetna: 3.8 * Devoted Health: 3.8 Three of the five, Aetna, Devoted Health and UnitedHealth Group, were also named best Medicare Advantage companies in the 2026 edition, according to U.S. News' 2026 announcement. Kaiser Permanente and Humana are new to the top list for 2027. U.S. News also recognized top companies in three consumer-focused categories: highest satisfaction, screening and prevention, and care continuity. How U.S. News rated insurers. U.S. News rates Medicare Advantage contracts on a five-point scale, assigning its own weights to more than 30 quality measures published by CMS. Those weights do not necessarily match the ones CMS uses for Star Ratings. U.S. News then calculates an enrollment-adjusted average rating for each company. To be named among the best, a company needed an overall rating of at least 3.8 after rounding and had to serve at least 1,000 beneficiaries as of December 2025 in each of 10 or more states or territories where it still offers coverage for 2027. The ratings covered both standalone Medicare Advantage contracts and those that include Part D drug coverage. Part D leaders unchanged. For standalone prescription drug coverage, the same two companies earned best overall recognition in both 2026 and 2027. Humana scored 3.8 and Centene scored 3.5 for 2027, according to U.S. News. To qualify as a top Part D company, an insurer needed at least 1,000 Part D beneficiaries in each of at least 10 jurisdictions where it still offers 2027 coverage, and an enrollment-weighted average rating of at least 3.5 after rounding. How the ratings compare with CMS stars. The U.S. News results broadly track this year's CMS Star Ratings, which showed Humana rebounding sharply, with 95 percent of its Medicare Advantage members in plans rated 4 stars or higher, up from about 20 percent. Aetna and UnitedHealthcare saw their share of members in 4-star-or-better plans decline, though both still met U.S. News' threshold. Because U.S. News applies its own weighting and requires a presence in at least 10 states, its list highlights larger multistate carriers. Strong regional plans may appear instead in U.S. News' state-by-state rankings. Those state-level ratings recognize a wider field. In the 2026 edition, fewer than one-third of Medicare Advantage insurers nationwide earned a best insurance company designation in at least one state, according to Geisinger Health Plan, which was named a best company in Pennsylvania that year. Regional and provider-owned plans such as Geisinger's often compete closely with national carriers in their home markets even when they fall short of the 10-state requirement for the national list, giving beneficiaries more top-rated options to compare locally. What it means for beneficiaries and plans. For beneficiaries, the ratings are one input among several. Plan networks, drug formularies, premiums and out-of-pocket costs vary widely by county, and a highly rated company may not offer the best plan in a given area. For insurers, appearing among the best Medicare Advantage companies can be a marketing advantage during open enrollment. Unlike CMS Star Ratings, the U.S. News ratings do not affect federal quality bonus payments, but they shape how consumers and brokers view plan quality as enrollment decisions are made.

Providence and Devoted Health partner to offer Medicare coverage options in Oregon and southwest Washington. PORTLAND, Ore. - Providence Oregon and Devoted Health (Devoted) - an integrated healthcare company redefining how healthcare is experienced and delivered - have announced a new contracting relationship to offer a Medicare Advantage coverage option for people seeking continued access to Providence physicians, clinics and hospitals beginning in 2027. The announcement comes ahead of Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period, which runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can review their coverage and select a plan for the coming year. Providence identified Devoted Health as an option for current Providence Health Plan Medicare Advantage members, whose coverage ends in 2026, and Medicare-eligible individuals who want to consider coverage that includes Providence providers. "As Oregon's insurance landscape continues to evolve, our priority is to help patients navigate those changes and stay connected to the care teams they know and trust," said Jennifer Burrows, chief executive, Providence Oregon. "We are working with partners, including Devoted, to provide patients with options that allow them to keep their care at Providence." "We're proud to partner with Providence to bring our vision and mission of caring for people like family to more people in Oregon and southwest Washington," said Ed Park, CEO and Co-Founder of Devoted. "Choosing Medicare coverage is an important decision and seniors deserve great care, more choices, and a health plan that help them stay connected with the care teams they trust." For information about accepted insurance plans and resources for finding coverage that includes Providence providers, visit Providence's open enrollment resource center at providence.org/KeepMyDoctor. For more information about Devoted Health, visit www.devoted.com. About Devoted Health Founded in 2017, Devoted Health's mission is to dramatically improve health and well-being by caring for everyone like they are family. Through an integrated care platform that brings together advanced data and AI with world-class clinical and service excellence, Devoted is redefining how healthcare is experienced and delivered. Devoted's unique solution combines its proprietary technology and AI platform, Devoted Medical clinical services, Devoted health plans, and dedicated service Guides to deliver proactive, personalized, prevention-focused healthcare consistently and at scale. Built on the belief that informed, supported members can actively shape their own health for the better, Devoted's care model builds deep trust with members and partners with them to significantly improve care and health outcomes. Currently operating in the Medicare Advantage market, Devoted's platform is purpose-built to expand to serve broader healthcare markets over time. Learn more at www.devoted.com. About Providence Oregon Providence in Oregon is a not-for-profit network of eight hospitals, physicians, clinics, home health services, and affiliated health services. With some 23,000 caregivers (employees), Providence is Oregon's largest private employer.

Devoted Health closes $1.18B financing round. Medicare Advantage insurer Devoted Health has closed a $555 million Series G round as part of a $1.18 billion financing deal, confirming the Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing package as substantial fuel for the company's continued rapid expansion. How the Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing deal is structured. The remainder is a $622 million commitment from the same investors to buy shares from existing Devoted shareholders through a tender offer, which is expected to close later in the fourth quarter, according to an Oct. 1 news release. The $555 million in primary funding goes to the company, which said it will use the money to fund continued growth. Why pairing a primary round with a tender offer matters. Structuring this deal with both new primary capital and a separate tender offer to purchase shares from existing shareholders allows Devoted Health to simultaneously fund its forward growth plans while giving early investors and employees an opportunity for partial liquidity, a common approach among later-stage, high-growth private companies not yet pursuing a public listing. The expansion plans behind this Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing. The insurer is one of the fastest growing plans in the Medicare Advantage market, with plans to enter 342 new counties and five new states, Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York, in 2027, bringing its footprint to 1,341 counties across 34 states. Why this multi-state expansion is significant. Adding five entirely new states to its footprint in a single year, on top of 342 new counties within its existing markets, represents an unusually aggressive expansion pace at a moment when many other Medicare Advantage insurers are pulling back from markets and cutting plan offerings for 2027, a contrast that positions Devoted Health as a notable outlier in the current MA competitive landscape. The membership growth fueling this Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing round. Devoted had 538,000 members as of September, up from 212,000 in December. This represents roughly a 154% increase in membership within just nine months, a dramatic growth rate that likely underpins investor confidence in continuing to fund the company's aggressive geographic expansion. Why this growth stands out industrywide. While many major national insurers have reported Medicare Advantage membership declines or flat growth projections for 2027 amid broader industry cost pressures, Devoted Health's more than doubling of membership within less than a year illustrates a sharply divergent trajectory, consistent with the company's recently announced co-branded Medicare Advantage partnerships with both Walmart and Costco. What this Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing round means going forward. With the tender offer expected to close later in the fourth quarter and primary funding already secured, Devoted Health appears well-capitalized to execute its ambitious 2027 expansion into five new states and hundreds of new counties. Given the company's rapid membership growth and recent retail partnerships, this financing round may further solidify Devoted Health's position as one of the Medicare Advantage market's most aggressive growth stories at a time when much of the broader industry is retrenching. What to watch going forward. As Devoted Health moves toward its 2027 expansion into Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York, industry observers will likely watch whether the company's membership growth rate continues at a similar pace, and how its Walmart and Costco retail partnerships contribute to enrollment in these new markets. Given the broader contrast between Devoted Health's aggressive growth and the pullback seen among other major Medicare Advantage insurers heading into 2027, this Devoted Health $1.18 billion financing round may offer a useful case study in how a well-capitalized, rapidly scaling insurer is positioning itself differently from much of the rest of the industry.