CMS publishes 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings
CMS published the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings on Oct. 8, 2026. Approximately 37% of MA-PDs (188 contracts) earned four stars or higher, and the ratings will impact 2028 MA quality bonus payments.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings on Oct. 8, 2026, according to a CMS fact sheet. The ratings appear on Medicare Plan Finder for 2027 Open Enrollment, which begins on October 15, 2026 and runs through December 7, 2026. CMS said the ratings will impact 2028 MA quality bonus payments.
Rating Distribution
CMS publishes the MA (Medicare Part C) and Part D Star Ratings each year to measure the quality of health and prescription drug services received by consumers enrolled in MA and Part D prescription drug plans, the fact sheet says. MA Prescription Drug (MA-PD) contracts are rated on up to 43 unique quality and performance measures. MA-only contracts, without Part D coverage, are rated on up to 32 measures. PDP contracts are rated on up to 13 measures.
Approximately 37% of MA-PDs (188 contracts) that will be offered in 2027 earned four stars or higher for their 2027 overall rating, according to the fact sheet. Weighted by enrollment, approximately 71% of MA-PD enrollees are currently in contracts that will have four or more stars in 2027.
The fact sheet lists 508 total rated MA-PD contracts for 2027. The table lists 516 for 2026, 521 for 2025 and 545 for 2024. The average overall Star Rating, weighted by enrollment, is 3.99 for 2027. The 2026 average is 4.01, and the 2025 average is 3.95.
The table lists 15 contracts at 5 stars for 2027, 65 at 4.5 stars and 108 at 4 stars.
CMS said: “Changes in Star Ratings year-over-year are normal and expected and vary by measure.” The agency also said the cut points are recalculated each year based on performance during the measurement period.
For standalone drug plans, approximately 27% of PDPs (11 contracts) that will be active in 2027 received four or more stars for their 2027 Part D Rating. Weighted by enrollment, approximately 22% of PDP enrollees are currently in contracts that will have four or more stars in 2027, an increase from 2% in 2026.
The fact sheet lists 41 rated PDP contracts for 2027 and an average Part D Rating of 3.22, weighted by enrollment. The 2026 average is 3.01. The table lists 0 contracts at 5 stars for 2027, 3 at 4.5 stars and 8 at 4 stars. For 2026, it lists 2 contracts at 5 stars.
Changes in the Methodology for the 2027 Star Ratings
CMS said it made changes to the methodology through previous notice and comment rulemaking. The new measures beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings are Concurrent Use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines (COB) and Polypharmacy: Use of Multiple Anticholinergic Medications in Older Adults (Poly-ACH). The Care for Older Adults Functional Status Assessment measure returns after substantive specification changes. The respecified Colorectal Cancer Screening measure replaces the legacy measure.
CMS said all of these are process measures developed from evidence-based clinical treatment guidelines, each with a weight of one. The weight of the Improving or Maintaining Physical Health and Improving or Maintaining Mental Health measures increased from one for the 2026 Star Ratings to three beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings, following a substantive measure specification change.
CMS moved the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program Completion Rate for Comprehensive Medication Review (Part D) measure to the display page for measurement years 2025 and 2026. The measure will return to the Star Ratings as a new measure beginning with the 2029 Star Ratings (measurement year 2027). CMS retired the Care for Older Adults Pain Assessment (Part C) and Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge (Part C) measures from the Star Ratings.
Five-Star Contracts and Consistently Low Performers
A total of 15 MA-PD contracts are highlighted on the Medicare Plan Finder with a high-performing icon indicating they earned five stars. For 2027, six of those contracts also received the icon in 2026. The largest by enrollment in the fact sheet's table is MCS Advantage, Inc. with 360,519 enrollees as of 10/2026.
There are four MA-PD contracts with a low-performing icon for 2027 for consistently low-quality ratings. Last year, four contracts received this icon. The 2027 contracts are Atrio Health Plans, Aetna Better Health of California Inc., HealthSpring Life & Health Insurance Company, Inc. and Visiting Nurse Association of Central New York.
Tax Status and Performance
The fact sheet says nonprofit organizations more frequently earn higher ratings than organizations that are for-profit. For MA-PDs, approximately 44% of nonprofit contracts received four or more stars, compared with 34% of for-profit MA-PDs. For PDPs, approximately 28% of nonprofit PDPs received four or more stars, compared with 27% of for-profit PDPs.
Generally, higher overall Star Ratings are associated with contracts that have more experience in the MA program, CMS said. MA-PDs with 10 or more years in the program are more likely to have four or more stars than MA-PDs with less experience.
Open Enrollment and quality bonus payments
The 2027 Star Ratings appear on Medicare Plan Finder for 2027 Open Enrollment, which runs from October 15, 2026 through December 7, 2026. CMS said the ratings will impact 2028 MA quality bonus payments. The fact sheet says the qualifying extreme and uncontrollable circumstances for the 2025 performance period include wildfires in California and severe storms in Texas.