Medicare Advantage

Before you shop in Buckeye: what Medicare Star Ratings actually measure

For 2027, Buckeye is looking at 92 Medicare Advantage plans: 17 new, 13 gone since 2026, and 33 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 13 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Maricopa County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

BUCKEYE, Ariz. — Every fall, just before Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes updated Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans. If you live in Buckeye and you are about to compare coverage for 2027, it helps to know what those little stars are really telling you — and what they are not.

Star Ratings are one tool, not a scoreboard. They summarize how plans performed on dozens of quality measures over the past year. They do not tell you which plan fits your doctors, your prescriptions, or your budget. That part is still on you.

What the stars actually measure

CMS scores Medicare Advantage and Part D plans from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent), in half-star steps. The rating is a rolled-up average of many separate measures, which fall into broad categories:

• Staying healthy: whether members get screenings, tests, vaccines, and checkups.
• Managing chronic conditions: how well the plan supports members with diabetes, heart disease, and similar ongoing needs.
• Member experience: what enrollees say in CMS surveys about their care and their plan.
• Member complaints and changes in performance: how often members leave, complain, or have problems getting care.
• Customer service: call center responsiveness, appeals handling, and access to information.

Part D plans are also scored on drug pricing accuracy, medication safety, and how well members stick with important prescriptions.

How CMS puts the ratings together

Each measure is scored on its own, then weighted and combined into an overall rating. Some measures — like patient experience and access — carry more weight than others. CMS updates the methodology from time to time, so year-over-year changes can reflect both plan performance and rule changes.

The ratings you'll see this fall are based largely on data from the prior plan year. That means a plan's current star count is a look backward, not a forecast.

Why the fall timing matters

CMS typically posts the new ratings in early to mid-October, right before the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) begins on October 15 and runs through December 7. That gives Buckeye residents a window to compare 2027 options using the freshest quality data alongside benefits and costs.

There is also a separate Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, when someone already in a Medicare Advantage plan can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

What Star Ratings don't tell you

This is the piece people miss. A rating is an average across a plan's entire service area and membership — it doesn't know:

• Whether your doctors and hospitals are in the network.
• Whether your specific prescriptions are on the formulary and at what tier.
• What your out-of-pocket costs will look like based on how you actually use care.
• Whether the plan covers extras that matter to you.

For 2026, some program-wide rules apply no matter which plan you pick: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100, the Part D maximum deductible is $615, and the old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone — replaced by a simpler three-phase structure that took effect in 2025. Higher-income enrollees may also owe IRMAA surcharges, which for a single filer in 2026 begin above $109,000 in income.

There is also the optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

How to use ratings the right way in Buckeye

Buckeye is in Maricopa County, where Medicare Advantage and Part D availability is set at the county level. When you log in to the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, you'll see the star count listed next to each plan available in your ZIP code. Use it as one input — a quality signal — and then dig into the specifics that matter for your situation.

A good order of operations:

1. Confirm your doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies. 2. Enter your prescriptions to see coverage and total yearly cost estimates. 3. Look at the full cost picture — premium, deductible, copays, and the out-of-pocket cap. 4. Then check the Star Rating as a quality tiebreaker.

If you want a person to walk through it with you, Arizona's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) provides free, unbiased counseling. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) anytime, 24/7.