Medicare Star-Rating System

The Medicare Sar Rating System is like Amazon reviews…but instead of reviewing products like kitty litter and giant inflatable beach balls, they’re rating Medicare plans. And instead of customers rating the plans, they’re rated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a.k.a. CMS. So really, they’re not that much like Amazon reviews at all. Except for the star part—that’s the same. A one-star rating (“poor”) is the lowest a plan can get, and a five-star rating (“excellent”) is the highest.

So how does the CMS come up with its ratings? Well, it looks at three main areas: customer service, quality of care, and complaints made by members. There are also subcategories within those categories, but basically, the top performers in those three areas get the coveted five-star rating and all the accolades (and potential new customers) that rating brings. Since there are literally almost two dozen Medicare plans out there, checking out how they rate might not be a bad way to start figuring out which one works best for ya.