Medicare Advantage

Medicare Star Ratings for 2026: a Tigard reader's guide

TIGARD, Ore. — As the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7, shoppers on medicare.gov are seeing something new next to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans: updated Star Ratings for 2027. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) refreshes these scores every fall, and they are meant to give people a quick read on plan quality — not a ranking, and not a shopping shortcut.

Here is what the stars actually measure, and what they don't.

How the Star Ratings system works

CMS scores Medicare Advantage and Part D plans on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest. Medicare Advantage plans that also include drug coverage get an overall rating that blends both the health and drug measures. Stand-alone Part D plans get their own drug-only rating.

The scores are built from dozens of individual measures, then rolled up into category ratings and finally into the overall star score you see on medicare.gov.

What the stars actually measure

Star Ratings look at things like:

• Staying healthy: whether members are getting recommended screenings, vaccines, and check-ins.
• Managing chronic conditions: how well plans support members living with issues like diabetes or heart disease.
• Member experience: satisfaction with the plan, based on member surveys.
• Member complaints and changes in performance: how often members complain or leave, and whether the plan is improving.
• Customer service: how well the plan handles appeals and calls.
• Drug safety and pricing accuracy (for Part D): including safe use of medications and accurate pricing information.

Notice what's not on that list: your specific doctors, your specific medications, or your monthly premium. A high-star plan isn't automatically the right fit, and a lower-star plan isn't automatically a bad one for your situation.

When and where the ratings are published

CMS releases the new Star Ratings each October, ahead of the Annual Enrollment Period. You can see them:

• On medicare.gov, next to each plan when you use the Plan Finder tool.
• In the plan materials Medicare Advantage and Part D carriers send out for the coming year.
• In CMS's own public data files, which anyone can download.

Because ratings are updated once a year, the score you see this fall is the one that applies to plan choices for 2027 coverage.

How Tigard residents can use the ratings

Tigard is in Washington County, where Medicare beneficiaries have a wide range of Medicare Advantage and Part D options to sort through. Star Ratings can be a useful filter — a way to see, at a glance, how a plan has performed on quality measures — but they work best alongside the questions only you can answer:

• Are my doctors and preferred hospitals in the plan's network?
• Are my prescriptions on the plan's formulary, and at what tier?
• Is my pharmacy considered preferred?
• Does the plan fit my budget, including premiums, deductibles, and cost-sharing?

Program-wide, a few facts are worth keeping in mind as you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025, replaced with three simpler phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs into monthly payments if you choose.
• IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates this season

• October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare.