Medicare Plans in Star, Idaho: 2027 Guide

Medicare in Star at a Glance

The Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey counts 13,231 Star residents, and 2,763 of them, 20.9%, are 65 or older. That is above Ada County's 15.7%, and Star's median age of 40.6 is a little over two years above the county's 38.3. Its median household income, $91,318, is slightly above the county's $88,907, and 6.7% of residents have no health insurance, the same share as the county as a whole.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 5-year Data Profile DP05, Star city, Idaho, DP03 for Star and the same profiles for Ada County, accessed November 12, 2026. County row: U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder, Star internal point, accessed November 12, 2026.

Star Against Other Treasure Valley Cities

A city's age mix changes what Medicare help it needs, and Star sits in the middle of the valley's range. Eagle is the older end, with 23.2% of residents 65 and over. Kuna is the younger end, at 10.5%. Star, at 20.9%, is closer to Eagle than to Kuna. One comparison is worth pausing on: Kuna has about twice Star's population (25,960 against 13,231), yet the two cities count almost the same number of residents aged 65 and over, 2,731 in Kuna and 2,763 in Star.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023 5-year Data Profile DP05 for Star, Kuna, Meridian and Eagle, and the Ada County profile, accessed November 12, 2026.

All five places buy Medicare Advantage from the same Ada County lineup, so the plan choices below are the same whether you live in Star, Kuna, Meridian or Eagle.

What a Medicare-Age Share of 21% Means for Star

When about one resident in five is 65 or older, many households have someone on Medicare, about to join, or helping a parent. We expect fewer questions about whether to sign up and more about whether the current plan still fits next year.

Plans are rewritten every year: premiums, copays, networks and drug lists change on January 1, and a plan can leave a county. The Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, 2026, is the main window to switch for 2027. Three checks are worth doing every year.

• Your doctors and clinics. A network can add or drop a clinic from one year to the next. We look up each of your providers by name against the 2027 plan, not the 2026 one.
• Your prescriptions. Drug lists and tiers move. Send us every medication with its dose and your pharmacy and we price the whole year, not just the first month.
• Your worst-case year. The in-network out-of-pocket maximum for Ada County plans runs from $3,000 to $9,150. A $0 premium means less if a hospital stay would hit that maximum.

Turning 65 in Star: Your Enrollment Timeline

With a Medicare-age share above the county's, many Star families are also a few years from the milestone themselves. Federal rules set the Initial Enrollment Period for Part B as a seven-month window: it begins three months before the month you first meet the eligibility requirements, which for most people is the month you turn 65, and ends three months after that month.

Source: eCFR, 42 CFR 407.14, initial enrollment period, accessed November 12, 2026. The January birthday is an example we chose to show the seven months; your own dates depend on your birth month.

If you are still working with job-based coverage, whether to take Part B at 65 depends on your employer's size and plan; see our answer on whether you need Medicare if you are still working at 65. Our Turning 65 in Idaho checklist goes step by step.

Star's Health Profile

The CDC's PLACES estimates put Star above the Ada County figures on all five measures we track: arthritis, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diagnosed diabetes and obesity. That fits a city older than the county average, though PLACES covers all adults, not only people on Medicare, and we cannot say what drives any single number. For plan choice, prescription coverage and the out-of-pocket maximum deserve as much attention as the premium.

Source: CDC PLACES place data, Star and CDC PLACES county data, 2023 release, crude prevalence among adults, accessed November 12, 2026.

Ada County has 3 Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans built for people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and 4 for people who also qualify for Medicaid. If you manage one of those conditions, we check whether you qualify and whether the plan's network includes your doctors.

PPO Plans Available in Star for 2027

A PPO pays toward care outside its network, usually at a higher cost to you, with no referral needed for a specialist. For 2027, 9 of the 19 Ada County plans are PPOs, 9 of them have a $0 Part C premium, and 6 include drug coverage. Here they are, sorted by out-of-pocket maximum.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), accessed November 12, 2026. The out-of-pocket maximum shown is the in-network limit; out-of-network care has its own, higher limit.

Star Medicare Advantage by the Numbers, 2027

Medicare Advantage plans are sold county by county, so Star residents choose from the Ada County lineup. For 2027 CMS lists 19 Medicare Advantage plans in Ada County, not counting Special Needs Plans, from 5 carriers: Humana, Blue Cross of Idaho, UnitedHealthcare, PacificSource Medicare, St. Luke's Health Plan.

Source: CMS CY2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape file (202610) and CMS Monthly Enrollment by Contract, Plan, State and County, October 2026, accessed November 12, 2026. The $0 and average premium figures use the Part C premium; enrollment skips rows CMS suppresses for privacy, so it is a floor.

Most enrolled plans in Ada County

Source: CMS monthly enrollment, October 2026, matched to the same plan IDs in the CY2027 Landscape file. Popularity is not a recommendation.

Every 2027 Medicare Advantage Plan Available in Star

PPO plans (9)

A PPO lets you see providers outside the network, at a higher share of the cost, and does not normally require referrals. That flexibility matters most when your doctors are split across different health systems, or when you spend part of the year somewhere else.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), accessed November 12, 2026.

HMO plans (6)

An HMO keeps your care inside one network and usually asks you to pick a primary care doctor who coordinates referrals. Premiums and copays tend to be the lowest of the plan types, and the trade is that out-of-network care generally is not covered except in an emergency.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), accessed November 12, 2026.

HMO-POS plans (4)

HMO-POS is an HMO with a point-of-service option bolted on, so a defined set of services can be used out of network at a higher cost share. Which services qualify varies plan by plan, so it is worth reading that part of the benefit summary closely.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), accessed November 12, 2026.

How CMS rates these plans for 2027

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), which added the 2027 Star Ratings on October 18, 2026. A plan too new to rate is not the same as a low score.

Special Needs Plans for Star Residents

Ada County also has 8 Special Needs Plans for 2027. Medicare sets who qualifies, and we check eligibility against your records rather than assuming. The Chronic Condition plans here are built around cardiovascular disorders, chronic heart failure and diabetes.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610), accessed November 12, 2026.

Standalone Part D Plans in Star

If you keep Original Medicare, alone or with a Medigap policy, you add a standalone Part D plan. Idaho has 8 for 2027, all sold statewide. For 2027 the standard deductible is $700 and out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs is capped at $2,400 for the year, per the CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement.

Source: CMS CY2027 Landscape file (202610); deductible and cap from the CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement, accessed November 12, 2026. The premium is only part of the cost; your drug list decides the rest.

Want the whole county picture, including the health profile and Medigap basics? See our Ada County Medicare guide.

Hospitals Near Star

No Medicare-certified hospital in the CMS file has a Star address, so Star residents travel for hospital care. The table lists the large Boise hospitals, the Boise VA Medical Center, St. Luke's in Nampa and Valor Health in Emmett, with CMS overall ratings. We did not measure drive times.

Source: CMS Care Compare, Hospital General Information (dataset updated July 22, 2026), accessed November 12, 2026. A hospital rating says nothing about whether a plan covers it; we check the network. CMS does not publish an overall rating for every hospital, which is why Valor Health shows none.

Choosing a Plan in Star: What We Look At

For Star clients, three of CarrieAnne's comparison areas usually carry the most weight.

• Network and hospital access. With no hospital inside the city, the network question is really a question about where you would go: the Boise systems, Nampa, or somewhere else. We check your doctors and your hospital by name against each plan.
• Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage. Want any doctor who takes Medicare, or travel a lot? Look at a Medicare Supplement with a Part D plan first. Comfortable with a network? A PPO or HMO costs less each month. We price both.
• Prescriptions and chronic conditions. With Star above the county on every PLACES measure we track, a drug list can matter more than a $0 premium.

We meet Star clients by Zoom or phone. Our Idaho City office is about 34 miles from Star in a straight line (Census 2023 Gazetteer) and is open by appointment if you would rather meet in person. Watch the short video on our Medicare Resources page, start the plan review survey, then call or text 208-350-9933 and we set up your meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

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