Medicare Advantage

Medicare Star Ratings 2026: What the Numbers Actually Measure

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — As the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7, shoppers in Hamilton County are again seeing something called "Star Ratings" attached to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes these ratings every fall, and they tend to draw a lot of attention — but they are often misunderstood. Here is what the stars actually measure, and what they do not.

What Star Ratings actually are

Star Ratings are a quality measurement system run by CMS. Every Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) and stand-alone Part D drug plan is scored on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. The ratings are refreshed once a year, in the fall, so they line up with when people are choosing coverage for the year ahead.

Think of the stars less like a "best of" list and more like a report card that looks backward at how a plan has performed.

What the stars measure

CMS looks at dozens of separate measures and rolls them up into an overall score. In broad strokes, the measures cover:

• Staying healthy: whether members get recommended screenings, vaccines, and check-ups.
• Managing chronic conditions: how well the plan helps people with diabetes, heart disease, and similar conditions.
• Member experience: survey results on how members rate their plan and providers.
• Member complaints and plan performance: how often members leave, file complaints, or appeal decisions.
• Customer service: how the plan handles calls, appeals, and new-member questions.
• Drug plan performance (for Part D): accuracy of drug pricing, medication safety, and adherence.

The stars are calculated from data the plans and their members provide throughout the previous year, so a 2027 rating largely reflects what happened in 2025 and into 2026.

What Star Ratings are NOT

This is where a lot of confusion creeps in. Star Ratings are not a ranking of "best plan for you." A plan with a high rating might not include your doctors, your pharmacy, or your prescriptions. A lower-rated plan is not automatically a bad fit — it may still cover what you need. The rating is one input, not the whole answer.

CMS also does not use the stars to endorse any company. And no private website — including this one — can honestly tell you which plan is "top" for your situation, because that depends on your health, your medications, and your budget.

How and when CMS publishes them

CMS releases the Star Ratings each October, ahead of the Annual Enrollment Period. You can see them on the official Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov, where each plan's overall star score appears next to its listing. You can also drill down and see how a plan scored on individual measures — for example, customer service versus preventive screenings.

The ratings apply to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. Original Medicare (Parts A and B) is not star-rated, because it is the federal program itself, not a private plan.

Putting it in context for 2027

The 2027 plan year also brings some real, program-wide changes worth knowing while you shop:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying all at once at the pharmacy.
• IRMAA income surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Star Ratings do not change any of those rules. They are a quality signal on top of the coverage itself.

How to use the ratings without being misled

A reasonable approach: check the star score, but weigh it against the things that actually affect your care and wallet — your doctors' networks, your prescription list, your pharmacy, and any travel needs. If two plans look similar on paper, the star rating can be a helpful tiebreaker. But it should not override whether a plan fits your life.

Noblesville is in Hamilton County, where Medicare beneficiaries typically have a wide range of Advantage and Part D options available during AEP. The Plan Finder at Medicare.gov will show you the ones offered at your ZIP code along with their current stars.