Medicare Advantage

Star Ratings in Parkersburg: What CMS Actually Grades

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Each fall, just before Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period opens, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posts fresh Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans. The 2027 ratings are due ahead of the Oct. 15 enrollment window, and for Wood County residents weighing coverage choices, it helps to know what those one-to-five stars actually measure — and, just as important, what they don't.

What Star Ratings actually measure

CMS grades plans on a 1-to-5 scale, with 5 being the highest. The score is a rolled-up snapshot of quality and performance across dozens of categories. For Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage, CMS looks at up to 40 separate measures. Standalone Part D drug plans are scored on up to 12 measures.

The categories generally fall into a few buckets:

• Staying healthy — whether members get recommended screenings, vaccines and checkups.
• Managing chronic conditions — how well the plan supports people living with diabetes, heart disease and similar issues.
• Member experience — survey results on how members rate their care and the plan itself.
• Member complaints and plan performance — how often people leave the plan, file complaints, or have problems getting needed care.
• Customer service — call center performance, appeals handling and access to information.
• Drug safety and pricing accuracy — for plans with Part D, whether the plan prices medications correctly and helps members use drugs safely.

What the stars are not

A Star Rating is not a personalized recommendation. A five-star plan in one part of West Virginia may not even be offered in Parkersburg, and a plan with a strong overall score may not cover the specific doctors, hospitals or medications a particular person needs. CMS itself is clear that ratings are one tool among several — network, formulary, cost-sharing and prior authorization rules all matter for an individual decision.

Under this site's guidelines, we don't rank plans or steer readers to a specific one. The point of walking through Star Ratings is simply so you can read them accurately when you see them on Medicare.gov.

When and where they're published

CMS releases updated ratings each October, timed to the start of the Annual Enrollment Period on Oct. 15. You can see them on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare, where each plan listed for your ZIP code shows its overall rating. Ratings are recalculated every year using the most recent data CMS has, so a plan's score can rise or fall from one fall to the next.

Why the new ratings matter this season

This year's ratings arrive alongside some meaningful program changes. Part D has a new $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions for 2026, and the maximum Part D deductible is $615. The old coverage gap — the "donut hole" — was eliminated in 2025, leaving three drug-payment phases instead of four. Beneficiaries can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads drug costs across monthly installments rather than one hit at the pharmacy counter.

Higher-income beneficiaries should note that IRMAA surcharges in 2026 begin above $109,000 for single filers. Star Ratings don't change any of those figures, but they can help you gauge how a plan performs on drug safety and customer service — two areas that directly affect how smoothly the new $2,100 cap works in practice.

How to use ratings without being misled by them

A few honest tips when you're comparing plans in the Parkersburg area:

• Look at the underlying measures, not just the overall star. A plan might score well on member experience but weaker on drug pricing accuracy — that matters if you take several prescriptions.
• Check whether the plan is new. Brand-new plans may not have enough data for a rating yet.
• Confirm the plan actually operates in Wood County and that your providers are in-network.
• Remember that ratings describe past performance, not a guarantee of your experience.

Where to get local help

You don't have to sort this out alone. West Virginia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free, unbiased counseling to Medicare beneficiaries — including in-person help for residents in Parkersburg and the Mid-Ohio Valley. You can also compare plans directly at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31 gives you one opportunity to switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.