2027 Medicare Star Ratings: What Changed and How to Use Them

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings in Medicare Plan Finder on October 8, 2026. The ratings are available while Medicare Open Enrollment is underway from October 15 through December 7 for coverage that generally begins January 1, 2027.

Star Ratings can help you compare the quality and performance of Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D contracts. They are useful evidence, but they are not a ranking of which plan is best for you. Your prescriptions, providers, expected costs, service area, coverage rules, and other insurance still need a separate review.

CMS rates Medicare Advantage contracts with prescription drug coverage on up to 43 quality and performance measures. Medicare Advantage contracts without drug coverage are rated on up to 32 measures, while stand-alone Part D contracts are rated on up to 13 measures. CMS combines measure results into summary and overall ratings using its published methodology.

The measures cover different parts of plan performance, including preventive care, chronic-condition management, member experience, complaints, customer service, appeals, and medication safety. A contract’s overall number summarizes many results; it does not guarantee how a particular doctor, medicine, claim, or service will be handled.

CMS says 188 Medicare Advantage contracts with prescription drug coverage—approximately 37% of the MA-PD contracts offered in 2027—earned an overall rating of four stars or higher. Weighted by current enrollment, about 71% of MA-PD enrollees are in contracts that will have at least four stars in 2027.

Those percentages answer different questions. The first describes the share of rated contracts; the second gives more weight to contracts with more enrollees. Neither means that 71% of every county’s plan choices have four stars, because plan availability and enrollment vary by location.

CMS reports an enrollment-weighted average overall rating of 3.99 stars for MA-PD contracts in 2027, compared with 4.01 for 2026. CMS notes that year-to-year changes are normal and can vary by measure because contract performance and the cut points used to assign stars can change.

A small movement in the national average does not tell you whether your own contract moved up or down, whether the same plan is available in your county, or whether its 2027 benefits changed. Look up the exact plan name and plan ID for 2027 instead of applying the national average to an individual option.

For stand-alone prescription drug plans, CMS says 11 contracts—about 27% of the rated PDP contracts active in 2027—received four stars or more. Weighted by enrollment, about 22% of current PDP enrollees are in contracts that will have four or more stars in 2027, up from 2% in the 2026 ratings.

The enrollment-weighted average Part D rating increased from 3.01 in 2026 to 3.22 in 2027. That is a quality-rating change, not a promise that premiums or prescription costs fell. Compare your own medicines, dosages, pharmacies, formulary tiers, deductible, copays or coinsurance, and utilization rules for each plan.

The 2027 methodology includes new measures for concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines and for use of multiple anticholinergic medications in older adults. A revised colorectal cancer screening measure and a returning functional-status assessment measure also appear in the ratings.

CMS also increased the weight of the measures for improving or maintaining physical health and mental health after specification changes. These methodology updates are one reason not to interpret a year-over-year rating change as proof that every part of a plan became uniformly better or worse.

CMS says 15 MA-PD contracts received the high-performing icon for earning five stars in 2027, and eight of those contracts also received the icon in 2026. Four MA-PD contracts received Medicare Plan Finder’s icon for consistently low quality.

An icon applies to the contract and does not override the details of a specific benefit package. A five-star option may not be offered at your address, include your doctors, cover your prescriptions favorably, or fit your budget. A lower rating is a reason to investigate specific measures and alternatives, not a reason to interrupt care or change coverage without checking the consequences.

Start by confirming that you are viewing 2027 results for your ZIP code and county. Match the full contract and plan ID on Medicare Plan Finder with the plan’s 2027 documents. If two plans look similar on costs and coverage, their overall rating and category-level results can help you identify questions about customer service, complaints, appeals, medication safety, and care quality.

Pay attention to which rating you are viewing. A Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage can show an overall rating as well as health-plan and drug-plan information. A stand-alone Part D plan has a Part D rating. New contracts may have too little data for a rating, which does not by itself establish high or low quality.

Before enrolling, enter every prescription and preferred pharmacy, verify each important doctor and facility, and review premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, prior authorization, referrals, supplemental-benefit limits, and the medical maximum out-of-pocket amount when applicable. Provider directories can change, so confirm important providers with both the plan and the provider office.

Also read the Annual Notice of Change if you already have a plan. A contract can keep a similar quality rating while changing a premium, formulary, network, cost-sharing rule, or supplemental benefit. Medicare Choose’s plan comparison and plan checkup can help organize those details, but current plan documents and written coverage information should guide the final decision.

During Open Enrollment, you can make permitted changes to Medicare Advantage or prescription drug coverage through December 7, 2026. Medicare.gov says changes made during this period take effect January 1, 2027, as long as the plan receives the enrollment request by the deadline.

If you are considering a switch between Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare, check prescription drug coverage and Medigap eligibility before acting. Employer, union, retiree, Medicaid, or veterans coverage can also be affected by a Medicare enrollment choice, so contact the relevant benefits administrator before dropping coverage you may not be able to restore.

For official help, call 1-800-MEDICARE or use Medicare Plan Finder. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program can provide free, unbiased counseling. Keep the exact plan ID, representative’s name, date, and reference number when you ask a plan to confirm a provider, drug, authorization rule, or cost.

No rating can predict every experience, and no website can promise the best plan. The most reliable approach is to use the 2027 Star Ratings as one quality signal within a beneficiary-specific review of coverage, access, costs, and plan rules.

CMS: “2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings,” based on ratings published in Medicare Plan Finder on October 8, 2026. Medicare.gov: “Open Enrollment” and Medicare Plan Finder. These official sources provide the 2027 rating distribution and methodology highlights, enrollment dates, permitted coverage changes, and plan-comparison resources summarized here.