?? Boost Your Medicare Advantage Stars Ratings with These Key Strategies! ??

With the recent CMS updates, Medicare Advantage health plans have a significant opportunity to elevate their Stars ratings. Here’s how:

1. Optimize Heavily Weighted Measures: ?? Focus on controlling blood pressure and blood sugar, and managing 30-day all-cause readmissions, each weighted 3x. Don't miss the two improvement measures weighted at 5x—targeting the next threshold can drive significant improvements.
2. Health Equity Index (HEI) Optimization: ?? Start by identifying members to address disparities. Moving non-compliant members towards compliance not only improves HEI but also boosts overall star ratings.
3. Member Experience Measures: ?? Despite a reduction in weighting from 4x to 2x, CAHPS and other member experience measures are still crucial. They gauge access to and coordination of care. Keep a strong focus on administrative measures like member experience, CTMs, disenrollment, and language services, even as their weighting decreases after this year.

?? Avoid Complacency: The healthcare regulatory landscape is changing. Sticking to the status quo is a risk—plans must adapt quickly. Ignoring HEI because it doesn’t directly impact contracts is a strategic misstep. Reducing barriers and disparities is essential for long-term success.