Almost half of these plans earned four or more stars for their overall rating, up 9 percentage points from 2015 ratings. Results show 71 percent of enrollees with MA that includes prescription drug coverage are covered by contracts with four or more stars.
CMS compiles ratings on quality and performance measures, including outcomes, intermediate outcomes, patient experience, access and process, and links financial incentives to the ratings to drive quality improvement in Medicare Part C and D.
A total of 17 contracts earned gold stars for high performance, meaning they earned five-star ratings. Of these high-performers, 12 were MA plans with prescription drug coverage, three were MA-only plans and two were standalone prescription drug plans. Seven contracts were new to the list.
Six contracts earned low performing icons for consistently low quality ratings of 2.5 stars or less from 2014 through 2016.
More articles on payer issues:
Study: Nearly half of HealthCare.gov plans don’t cover out-of-network costs
BCBS of Texas drops individual PPO plans
Iowa Wellmark to sell policies on health exchange
