Here are the highest and lowest-rated plans for the upcoming year

Medicare released its annual star ratings this month, which measure the performance of the new Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans. The ratings range from 1 star to 5 stars, the highest score. You can use the star ratings as a helpful guide during the Enrollment Period.

The criteria for ratings is slightly different for each plan, as shown on MedicareInteractive.org.

Medicare Advantage Plans:

  • Staying Healthy: Screenings, Tests and Vaccines
  • Managing Chronic Conditions
  • Plan Responsiveness and Care
  • Member Complaints, Problems and Leaving the Plan
  • Customer Service

Prescription Drug Plans:

  • Customer Service
  • Member Complaints, Problems and Leaving the Plan
  • Member Experience with Plan
  • Drug Pricing and Patient Safety

Plans are rewarded for high scores and penalized for recurring low ratings. If a plan has 4 or more stars, Medicare pays them an extra 5% per member in their monthly payments. If a plan is rated with 5 stars, the plan can enroll new customers year round- a coveted bonus.

If plans have less than 3 stars for three years, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder will flag them with a caution sign, and won’t allow beneficiaries to enroll on the Medicare website.

These are the highest-performing Medicare Advantage- Prescription Drug (MA-PD) Plans for 2016:

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These are the highest and lowest-rated local Prescription Drug Plans for 2016. The highest-rated are in green, and the lowest-rated are in red.

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For more information on Star Ratings, see this page from Medicare.gov.

This Modern Healthcare article provides an overview of Star Ratings and what they mean for plans with low scores.

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