The Ratings Game

$11.8 billion. That is how much Medicare health plans received in 2024 in bonus payments as a result of Medicare star ratings—a number that has more than tripled since 2015 (see;Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payments Will Total At Least $11.8 Billion In 2024).

The most recent development is that a federal judge has ordered the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to recalculate UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage (MA) star ratings for 2025. While the judge did not agree with UnitedHealthcare’s assertion that CMS held them to a different standard than other insurers, the . . .