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My 93 year old friend was convinced to change, to save a few dollars, only to find out after the fact that NONE of her doctors were on the new plan, it has taken her over a year and a half to find new doctors.
She was also very surprised to find out she now has copays that far exceed annually what she was paying for in her premiums.
Sometimes if it seems to good to be real, it probably is.
To answer your actual question, yes, her POA should be able to change her insurance, I did for my dad.
I would speak with AARP. They are more expensive than my Kaiser by FAR but they were great with my brother, and they were great with me as his POA in sending me copies of everything they covered, in accepting my checks as POA, and in his coverage. I would speak with them. The number is on the card.
Then you can call Medicare at 1-800-Medicare. Find out what you need to do to function in any changes, if necessary to his plan. My brother was able to be on the phone with me, his POA and Trustee, and to give Medicare permission to mail his statements to me; I don't know what steps we would have had to go through otherwise. With Social Secuity, if changes are needed, you must become representative payee, with letters of incompetency, and with your careful record keeping and filings with them.
I will tell you that if you are new to this, financial POA, you have a steep learning curve and the best way to do it is call, wait all that time online for a representative and speak directly to them. Medicare and SS have excellent websites as well, but it was a solid year of learning for me. And so much to know that 5 years later I have a real difficult time remembering the anxiety of the many hoops to be jumped through. I sure wish you good luck.
Generally speaking (and I live in MN) Advantage Plans are lower cost with lower co-pays and some perks but really best if you are a very healthy senior with no pending surgeries or chronic illnesses. My husband (67) started with an AARP/UHC Advantage Plan. The plans change every single year so what they say they cover in 2025 may not be the case in 2026.
We have a BCBS supplement because it includes the Mayo, and has a lot of national coverage (and some international). The co-pays are higher but it's a bigger network and covers more.
Yes, you will definitely need to consider your Mom's current network and the implications if you switch. But you also need to consider what her current and potential health/medical needs are.
I'm not a professional and I strongly recommend you talk to one in your Mom's home state. If you aren't yet 65 then the Medicare "maze" may be really confusing to newbies. So, talk to an expert first.