“US health agency releases 2026 quality ratings for Medicare plans,” by Sneha S K , Reuters
“The U.S. government announced quality ratings for 2026 Medicare health and prescription drug plans on Thursday, which help determine bonus payments from the government to health insurers. CVS Health’s Aetna unit has more than 81% of members in top-rated programs. UnitedHealth has 78%, Elevance 55% and Humana about 20%, figures from the regulator and companies showed. The U.S. government announced quality ratings for 2026 Medicare health and prescription drug plans on Thursday, which help determine bonus payments from the government to health insurers. CVS Health’s Aetna unit has more than 81% of members in top-rated programs. UnitedHealth has 78%, Elevance 55% and Humana about 20%, figures from the regulator and companies showed. Overall, 64% of people currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans that cover prescription drugs are covered by plans rated four or five stars, according to a research note from Oppenheimer.”
LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform:
Those are very wide ranges and 64% is pretty unimpressive overall. Is there more to the story? Are the rankings valid? This is the government doing the scoring, after all.