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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has recalculated the quality star ratings for 2026 Medicare Advantage plans, a new government memo shows, after the health insurance industry filed yet another legal challenge targeting its scores.
The revision adds another layer of uncertainty to a program whose bonus pool now stands at $16 billion for the current year — roughly the full annual budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a figure that has doubled since 2020.
What Star Ratings Are and Why They Control the Money Medicare Advantage is the private-insurance alternative to traditional Medicare, sold by commercial health insurers to eligible beneficiaries.
The federal government scores each plan on a five-star quality scale administered by CMS. Plans that earn at least four stars qualify for bonus payments funded by taxpayers.
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