BMA: Star Ratings for 2022 Show Medicare Advantage Continues to Deliver High-Quality Care for Seniors 

Washington, D.C. – Better Medicare Alliance, the nation’s leading research and advocacy organization supporting Medicare Advantage, responded today to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2022 Star Ratings announcement.

CMS reports that 90% of beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage Part D (MA-PD) are enrolled in plans receiving four or five stars for 2022, the agency’s top scores for quality. The average Star Rating across MA-PD contracts for 2022 rose to 4.37, up from 4.06 in 2021 and 4.16 in 2020.

First published in 2007, Star Ratings are announced by CMS each year to help beneficiaries compare coverage options and quality ahead of Open Enrollment.

For 2022, CMS finds that the number of MA-PD plans with four stars or higher increased nearly twenty percentage points from 2021. A CMS fact sheet shows that average Star Ratings for quality measures like “getting needed care,” “customer service,” “rating of health plan,” “getting appointments and care quickly” and “care coordination” reached their highest levels in the last four years.

“Today’s CMS announcement shows that, even as average monthly premiums drop to the lowest level in 15 years, no corners have been cut on Medicare Advantage quality. In fact, quality scores increased this year over last, with an overwhelming 90% of MA-PD beneficiaries enrolled in plans receiving four or five stars for 2022. Once again, we see how Medicare Advantage rises to the challenge and delivers for the 27 million diverse beneficiaries who count on its coverage and care,” said Mary Beth Donahue, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “Seniors can find confidence and peace of mind with today’s announcement, knowing that they need not choose between lower costs and high-quality care when Medicare Advantage continues to provide both.”

Medicare’s Open Enrollment season begins on October 15, 2021, and ends on December 7, 2021.

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