MA STARS Act

Medicare Advantage star rating changes

This bill would require HHS to revise Medicare Advantage Star Ratings rules by notice-and-comment rulemaking for the 2031 contract year and after. It would allow the agency to exclude measures that are not about clinical quality, are not reasonably attributable to the issuer or its delegated entities, or come from beneficiary surveys with more than 10 questions or with inadequate sampling or representativeness. Measures HHS finds "no longer competitive" would still be shown publicly as display-only measures. Only measures newly added to the program that relate to clinical quality, patient outcomes, or patient experience could be counted in their first year unless the Secretary designates a material specification change. The bill would require HHS to publish, before each applicable contract year beginning in 2031, an annual public report showing the distribution of overall Star Ratings, the cut points and methodology used, and for each excluded measure the basis and data relied on. It would also create two technical expert panels to review beneficiary survey instruments and rating-cut methodology; each panel would have balanced stakeholder representation, solicit public comment, and deliver recommendations within two years of enactment. If enacted, Medicare Advantage enrollees would see plan star ratings change. That would affect how some people pick plans.