Medicare Advantage

Medicare Star Ratings Explained Ahead of Oct. 15

Inver Grove Heights, Minn. — With the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period opening October 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will once again publish its yearly Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans. For local residents comparing coverage this fall, understanding what those stars actually measure — and what they don't — can make the shopping season a lot less confusing.

Inver Grove Heights is in Dakota County, where Medicare beneficiaries have a wide field of Advantage and standalone drug plans to sort through. The Star Ratings are one of the few official, apples-to-apples tools CMS gives consumers to look at plan quality alongside price and benefits.

What Star Ratings actually measure

Each fall, CMS assigns Medicare Advantage and Part D plans a score from 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. The rating is a summary of how a plan performed across dozens of quality measures during the prior year.

For Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage, the rating reflects up to about 40 measures. Standalone Part D drug plans are rated on a smaller set. The measures generally fall into categories such as:

• Staying healthy — how well the plan helps members get screenings, tests and vaccines.
• Managing chronic conditions — care for members with diabetes, heart disease and other ongoing needs.
• Member experience — survey results on how members rate their plan and their doctors.
• Member complaints and plan performance — including how often members leave the plan.
• Customer service — how quickly and fairly the plan handles appeals and calls.
• Drug pricing and patient safety — accuracy of pricing information and safe prescribing.

Star Ratings are not a ranking of which plan is "best." They are a report card on past performance.

When and where the 2027 ratings are published

CMS typically posts the new ratings in early October, just before the Annual Enrollment Period begins on October 15. Once released, the ratings appear on the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare, where each plan listed for your ZIP code shows its overall star score along with category-level detail.

The ratings you see during this fall's enrollment window will apply to the 2027 plan year. AEP runs through December 7, and any changes you make take effect January 1.

Why the ratings matter this year

Star Ratings sit alongside some significant 2027 program changes that Dakota County residents will want to weigh at the same time:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises slightly to $2,100 in 2026 — meaning no one on a Part D plan will pay more than that amount for covered prescriptions in a calendar year.
• The Part D deductible maximum is $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges for Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Star Ratings do not change any of those figures, but they can help you see whether a plan has a track record of doing the basics well — answering the phone, processing appeals, keeping accurate drug pricing — while you weigh the numbers.

How to use the ratings without being steered

A good way to think about the stars: use them as one filter, not the whole decision. A plan's rating tells you about last year's performance across a big group of members. It does not tell you whether your doctor is in network, whether your medications are covered, or what your total costs will look like.

When you open Plan Finder, enter your prescriptions and your preferred pharmacies first. Then look at the Star Rating as a quality signal alongside the drug and provider details.

Where Inver Grove Heights residents can get unbiased help

Minnesotans have free, one-on-one help available through the Senior LinkAge Line, which serves as the state's SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program). Counselors do not sell plans and are not paid on commission.

• Senior LinkAge Line: 1-800-333-2433
• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• Online: medicare.gov/plan-compare