Medicare Advantage Star Ratings

The Medicare Advantage and Part D star ratings for 2020 shows that more plans have 4 stars or higher star ratings this 2020 as compared to 2019. Also, there are more plans being offered to start on October 15.  According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, there are about 1,200 more Medicare Advantage plans operating in 2020 than in 2018. Approximately 52 percent of contracts for Medicare Advantage plans offering Part D coverage earned 4 stars or higher, compared to about 45% in 2019.

In the 401 contracts for 2020, 210 are at 4 stars or higher, compared to 172 in 2019 when there were only 376 contracts.

Twenty contracts for MA and Part D earned 5 stars, 72 earned 4.5 stars and 118 earned 4 stars. This compares to 14 that earned 5 stars in 2019, 64 that earned 4.5 stars, and 94 that earned 4 stars last year.

The comparison between 2020 and 2019 shows 55 contracts rated 3 stars for 2020 as opposed to 66 in 2019. The average star rating for 2020 is 4.16, compared to 4.06 in 2019 and 4.02 in 2017. Approximately 28% of enrollees will be in stand-alone prescription drug plans with 4 stars or higher, an increase from approximately 3% in 2018. And the average star rating for a stand-alone prescription drug plan has improved from 3.34 in 2019 to 3.50 in 2020.

WHY THIS MATTERS?

The star ratings are important to both insurers and beneficiaries. The rating system rates Medicare health and drug plans on a rating of 1 to 5 stars, with 1 representing poor performance and 5 stars representing excellent performance. Through these ratings, you can determine which insurers provide the best service among others.

You can compare health coverage choices and the star ratings through the online Medicare Plan Finder tool available at Medicare.gov.