As Medicare enrollment expands and the early effects on access and affordability from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) emerge, the Medicare Stars Rating program is uniquely positioned to incentivize health plan performance, guide beneficiary choices, and support the aims of the IRA.
Considering that cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, particularly affecting the growing population of Medicare beneficiaries, important questions arise as to whether the current design of the Stars Rating program sufficiency reflects the clinical realities and access needs of patients with CVD.
To assess the effectiveness of the Star Ratings program for CVD patients, CRA’s Kirsten Axelsen, Milan Ferguson, and Ashu Mishra, undertook a review of the current Star measures relevant to CVD care, fielded a national survey of 150 Medicare beneficiaries with CVD, and analyzed 5,249 Medicare Part D plans in terms of their coverage for high-use CVD medications.
These findings provide insight into the strength and limitations of the current Stars Rating program and identify areas to improve the program to better align with patient-centered priorities. Read the full report on evaluating Medicare Stars for CVD patients here.
