Medicare Advantage

Medicare Star Ratings in Yankton: what the fall numbers measure

Yankton, S.D. — As the Annual Enrollment Period opens Oct. 15, Medicare's 2026 Star Ratings are in the news. Every fall, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posts updated ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans on Medicare.gov. The numbers can be helpful — but only if you know what they actually measure, and what they don't.

Here in Yankton, where many neighbors are weighing their coverage options between now and Dec. 7, it's worth slowing down and understanding the star system before letting a single number drive your decision.

What Star Ratings actually measure

CMS rates Medicare Advantage and standalone Part D plans on a scale from 1 star (poor) to 5 stars (excellent). The overall score is built from dozens of individual measures grouped into broad categories, including:

• Staying healthy: Whether members get recommended screenings, vaccines and check-ups.
• Managing chronic conditions: How well the plan supports members with diabetes, heart disease and similar ongoing needs.
• Member experience: Results from member surveys about care and the plan itself.
• Member complaints and changes in performance: How often people leave the plan, and complaint rates.
• Customer service: Call center performance, appeals handling and access to interpreters.
• Drug plan quality (for Part D): Accuracy of pricing information, medication adherence and drug safety.

The score is a snapshot of how the plan performed as an organization — not a promise about your personal experience.

How and when the ratings are published

CMS releases updated Star Ratings each October, in time for the Annual Enrollment Period that runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. You can see them by using the Plan Finder tool at Medicare.gov, where the star score appears alongside each plan.

Ratings are recalculated every year using the most recent data CMS has collected, so a plan's score can go up or down from one year to the next. That's one reason it's worth checking the current number rather than relying on what a plan was rated last time you looked.

What Star Ratings do not tell you

This is where people in Yankton County — and everywhere else — sometimes trip up. A star score does not tell you:

• Whether your doctors and hospitals are in the plan's network.
• Whether the medications you take are on the plan's drug list.
• What your specific premium, deductible or copays will be.
• Whether the plan is a good fit for how you actually use care.

A high-rated plan can still be the wrong plan for you if your prescriptions aren't covered or your preferred clinic isn't in-network. That's the mistake to avoid: treating stars as a shortcut instead of one input among several.

How stars fit into 2027 decisions

The 2027 plan year brings some notable program-wide changes that matter no matter which plan you choose:

• 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 old coverage gap ("donut hole") has been eliminated as of 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments if you choose.
• IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Star Ratings are one quality signal to consider alongside these program facts and your own personal needs.

A sensible way to use the ratings in Yankton

Yankton is in Yankton County, where Medicare Advantage and Part D options are set at the county level. When you use Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, you'll see the plans available in your ZIP code with their star scores listed.

A reasonable approach: first narrow the field by what you need — your doctors, your pharmacy, your medications, your budget for out-of-pocket costs — and then use Star Ratings to compare among the plans that already fit those needs. Stars are useful as a tiebreaker and a quality check, not as a starting point.

Remember the calendar, too. The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to switch, there's also the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 – March 31.