Medicare Advantage

Nashville: How Medicare Star Ratings Work Before Dec. 7

Davidson County has 69 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 14 plans are not coming back, 9 are new, and 30 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 9 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Nashville, not which plan to pick.

NASHVILLE — With the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period running October 15 through December 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has once again published its annual Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. If you live in Davidson County and are weighing your options this fall, understanding what those little star icons actually mean — and what they don't — can help you make a calmer, better-informed decision.

Here's a plain-English guide to Star Ratings before you enroll.

What Star Ratings actually measure

Star Ratings are a report card CMS publishes each fall for Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Part D prescription drug plans. Plans are scored on a 1-to-5 scale, with 5 being the highest.

According to CMS, the ratings pull from dozens of individual measures grouped into broad categories, including:

• Staying healthy — things like screenings, vaccines, and checkups.
• Managing chronic conditions — how well plans support members living with diabetes, heart disease, and similar conditions.
• Member experience — survey results on how members feel about their plan.
• Member complaints and changes in performance — including how often people leave a plan.
• Customer service — how the plan handles appeals and phone calls.
• Drug plan measures — for Part D, this includes drug safety and pricing accuracy.

The ratings are meant to reflect quality and service — not whether a plan is a fit for your specific doctors, medications, or budget.

When and where the ratings are released

CMS updates the Star Ratings each October, just before the Annual Enrollment Period begins. You can find the current ratings on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, where every plan available in your ZIP code shows its overall star score alongside coverage details.

Because Medicare Advantage and Part D availability is set at the county level, Nashville residents will see the plans offered in Davidson County when they search. The number of plans and carriers available can shift from year to year, which is one reason CMS recommends reviewing your coverage every fall — even if you're generally happy with it.

What the ratings don't tell you

This is the part many people miss. A high star rating does not mean:

• The plan covers your specific prescriptions.
• Your doctors or preferred Nashville-area hospitals are in-network.
• The plan's total yearly cost will be lower for you.
• The plan is the right structure for your health needs.

Two people in the same neighborhood can look at the same rating and reasonably reach different conclusions, because Medicare choices are deeply personal. Star Ratings are one input — not the whole decision.

The 2027 program changes to keep in mind

While you're comparing coverage, it helps to know what's changing across Medicare itself in 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once you hit that ceiling on covered drugs, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the calendar year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs into monthly payments across the year instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income enrollees) begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

These are program-wide rules — they apply regardless of which plan you choose.

How to actually use Star Ratings when deciding

A practical approach:

1. Start with your needs. List your doctors, your prescriptions, and the pharmacies you already use. 2. Use the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov to see plans available in Davidson County. 3. Look at the star rating as context — a quick signal of how a plan has performed on quality and service measures. 4. Then read the fine print. Confirm your drugs are on the formulary and your providers are in-network. This matters more than the star score for most people. 5. Ask questions before you enroll. Free, unbiased help is available (see below).

Key dates for this fall and winter

• 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 get one chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

Coverage from any choice you make during AEP begins January 1.