CMS posted the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings on October 8, a week before open enrollment begins and in time for the ratings to appear on Medicare Plan Finder for the October 15 to December 7 enrollment period. The enrollment-weighted average for MA prescription drug contracts landed at 3.99 stars, close to last year's 4.01, and about 71 percent of MA-PD enrollees sit in contracts rated four stars or higher. Underneath the steady average, carrier results moved in different directions, and the ratings set 2028 quality bonus payments, which gives every half star a dollar value.
What CMS reported
CMS rated 508 MA-PD contracts, down from 516 in 2026, and 188 of them, about 37 percent, earned four stars or more. The distribution shows 15 contracts at five stars, 65 at 4.5, 108 at four, 164 at 3.5, 124 at three, 31 at 2.5, and one at two. Fifteen contracts earned the high-performing icon, six of which also held the icon in 2026, and four contracts received the low-performing icon, the same count as last year. Nonprofit contracts outperformed for-profit contracts, with about 44 percent of nonprofit MA-PDs reaching four stars compared with 34 percent of for-profit contracts.
Stand-alone prescription drug plans improved, with an enrollment-weighted average of 3.22 stars compared with 3.01 in 2026. About 27 percent of the 41 rated PDP contracts, or 11, earned four stars or more, and about 22 percent of PDP enrollees sit in those contracts, up from about 2 percent last year.
What changed in the measures
Measure changes shaped the results. CMS added two Part D measures, Concurrent Use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines and Polypharmacy: Use of Multiple Anticholinergic Medications in Older Adults, each at a weight of one. The Care for Older Adults Functional Status Assessment measure returned after specification changes, a respecified colorectal cancer screening measure replaced the legacy version, and Care for Older Adults Pain Assessment and Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge were retired. The Improving or Maintaining Physical Health and Improving or Maintaining Mental Health measures moved from a weight of one to a weight of three. Our August article on the measure set covers the longer shift in weighting still ahead.
Several MA-PD measure averages slipped between 2026 and 2027, including Plan Finder price accuracy, from 4.6 to 4.2, timely decisions about appeals, from 4.1 to 3.9, medication adherence for diabetes medications, from 3.1 to 2.7, and improvement in physical health, from 3.2 to 3.0.
Where carriers landed
The carrier figures below come from company statements and press coverage, so they reflect each company's own framing. Humana reported 95 percent of its Medicare Advantage members in plans rated four stars or higher, compared with about 20 percent in the 2026 ratings as Becker's reported, and its largest contract, covering more than 2 million members, moved from 3.5 to four stars. Aetna reported more than 69 percent of its members in four-star plans, compared with about 81 percent a year ago. UnitedHealthcare said its results were in line with its expectations.
Alignment Healthcare's largest California contract, covering about 81 percent of its membership, moved from four to 3.5 stars while six of its seven rated contracts earned four stars or higher, and the company said the California rating does not reflect its performance and plans to pursue administrative remedies and litigation. Clover Health reported plans covering about 98 percent of its members at five stars, a result excluding 20 measures a federal court barred CMS from counting and which CMS has appealed. Clover said its larger plans would have scored 4.5 stars with those measures included.
What this means for your plan
For finance and bid teams, the ratings fix the 2028 quality bonus year. Plans at four stars or above carry bonus payments into 2028, while plans below the line have less to build on when bids are due in June 2027, and KFF puts 2026 bonus payments at more than $13 billion, which shows what the four-star line carries. Quality and Stars teams see where the weights moved the average, with the physical and mental health improvement measures at triple weight and several operational measures slipping, including appeals timeliness and price accuracy. The cut points behind those results shape how much room each plan has to move in the 2028 ratings.
Marketing and sales teams enter open enrollment with every contract's rating live on Plan Finder, which gives plans at four stars or above a clear message for members shopping because their plans changed and gives plans with lower ratings a harder conversation, a dynamic we covered in our look at the first AEP without the scope of appointment wait.
The courts remain part of the picture. The Clover ruling, CMS's appeal, and suits from other plans seeking similar recalculations, covered in our article on where the cases stand, leave open whether measure exclusions like the ones in Clover's result extend to other plans' ratings.
The RISE Star Ratings Master Class takes these results apart in detail. The program runs December 14 to 16 at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona, and covers Stars program changes, how recent lawsuits affect MA plans, and quality improvement innovation, with workshops on Stars Math, the Quality Data Deep Dive, and the Cutpoint Hackathon. Learn more about the Star Ratings Master Class.