Medicare Advantage Plan Star Ratings and Bonus Payments in 2012

This report looks at the star ratings that have been used for many years to help consumers compare plans, and examines how Medicare Advantage quality scores will interact with plan payments, beginning in 2012.

To encourage Medicare Advantage plans to provide quality care, the 2010 health reform law authorized Medicare to pay plans bonuses beginning in 2012 if they receive four or five stars on the program’s five-star quality rating system, or are unrated. Building on that provision, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services subsequently launched a demonstration that allowed more plans to receive bonuses and increased the size of the bonuses to encourage plans to maintain or improve their rating.

Authored by Foundation researchers, the report is the fourth in a series looking at various aspects of the Medicare Advantage star ratings.

Data Brief (.pdf)

Earlier reports examining the Medicare Advantage Stars Ratings

Reaching for the Stars: Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans, 2011

Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans: Key Changes in the Health Reform Law and 2010 Enrollment Data

What’s in the Stars? Quality Ratings of Medicare Advantage Plans, 2010

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