(The Center Square) – AARP-sponsored Medicare Advantage plans are among the lowest-rated options in many of the nation’s largest senior markets, despite the organization receiving over $1 billion annually to endorse them.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finds that AARP’s co-branded plans with UnitedHealthcare crack the top 10 for quality in two of the 10 U.S. counties with the highest senior populations – Maricopa County, Arizona, and Dallas County, Texas.
In the other eight counties – including Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, and Riverside in California, along with Miami-Dade, Florida, and Cook County, Illinois – AARP-backed plans don’t reach that threshold. Most of these plans have CMS star ratings between 3.5 and 4.0, while the highest-rated plans in those same counties score between 4.5 and 5.0 stars.
The CMS Star Ratings, updated annually, assess Medicare Advantage plans on up to 40 different measures ranging from preventive care to customer service. For the 2025 ratings, UnitedHealthcare’s AARP plans underperformed in many major markets.
UnitedHealthcare maintains the largest market share in the Medicare Advantage space, at 28.7%. That’s roughly double its closest competitor, according to Mark Farrah Associates.
AARP’s close relationship with UnitedHealthcare has raised questions in recent years, as The Center Square has previously reported. The nonprofit advocacy group receives more than $1 billion annually through its endorsement deal with the insurance giant, according to AARP’s 2023 annual report and public disclosures.
UnitedHealthcare, which runs the AARP-sponsored plans, is under fire for using artificial intelligence to deny claims from Medicare Advantage patients, according to multiple reports. That has led to a federal class-action lawsuit and an investigation from the U.S. Senate. The company is also facing civil and criminal cases from the Department of Justice over claims it overbilled Medicare by inflating patient diagnoses.
Meanwhile, concerns also have been raised about $1,000 “Flex Cards” promoted alongside AARP-endorsed plans. These cards function like cash and are often used for marketing purposes, but can be spent on non-medical items, raising questions about the value these plans deliver to seniors.
“Plans were often able to use the higher payment levels for these individuals to provide even higher rebates and garner higher margins,” a Health Affairs report said. “This paradigm led to the ‘rebates arms race’, whereby aggressive coding practices are not only parlayed into high profits but also escalating rebates to attract more enrollees, leading in turn to even higher profits.”
In a previous emailed statement to The Center Square, AARP Vice President of External Relations Sarah Lovenheim said the agency does not comment on pending or possible investigations, but noted that it “provides quality control and oversight on behalf of AARP for AARP-branded products and services. ASI works with more than a hundred companies to make available to members benefits and discounts that address the needs of people ages 50 and older. We expect all providers to comply with all laws and regulations.
