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be better suited as measures to monitor plan performance and compliance rather than as quality measures in the Part C and D Star Ratings program, especially since ratings for many of these measures are sensitive to small changes in performance. Additionally, we have seen improvement in the measures focused on operational performance and on completion of administrative processes since the inception of the Part C and D Star Ratings program and rates currently are fairly high.33 For example, measures such as Medicare Plan Finder Price Accuracy (Part D), Complaints about the Health and Drug Plan (Part C and D), and Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability (Part C and D) could be proposed for retirement from the Star Ratings program and used, instead, by CMS to monitor plan performance and compliance if applicable. If these measures were removed, the CAHPS Survey measures included in the Star Ratings program would still capture similar issues related to customer service, getting needed information, and overall plan performance. As performance has increased over time for the Plan Makes Timely Decisions about Appeals (Part C) and Reviewing Appeals Decisions (Part C) measures,34 we could also consider retiring these measures. Because the appeals process is critical to monitor as it impacts access to care, CMS would continue to monitor plan performance and issue compliance actions based on appeals data as needed and would continue to monitor access issues through the CAHPS Survey. We currently include in the Star Ratings program two measures using plan-reported data from the Part C and D Reporting Requirements: Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program Completion Rate for Comprehensive Medication Review (CMR) (Part D) and Special Needs Plan (SNP) Care Management (Part C). Both of these measures are process measures that indicate how often a contract completed a CMR for MTM program enrollees or how often the contract completed the required health risk assessments. CMS is ultimately interested in the outcomes of these two assessments, and not only their completion rates. CMS solicited feedback on the retirement of these measures from the Star Ratings program. To simplify and refocus the measure set and the calculation of the Star Ratings program, we also solicited feedback about retiring the other SNP-specific measures. The Care for Older Adults – Pain Assessment measure (Part C) is being retired by NCQA for the 2025 measurement year and will be removed from the Star Ratings program starting with the 2027 Star Ratings.35 The two remaining measures included in the Star Ratings for contracts with SNP plan benefit packages are: Care for Older Adults – Medication Review and Care for Older Adults – Functional Status

33 The average scores for the 2025 Star Ratings for MA contracts were as follows: Part C Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability was 94 percent, Part D Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability was 94 percent, Complaints about the Health/Drug Plan was 0.23, and Medicare Plan Finder Price Accuracy was 98 percent. Similarly, the average scores for the 2025 Star Ratings for PDP contracts were as follows: Part D Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability was 97 percent, Complaints about the Drug Plan was 0.04, and Medicare Plan Finder Price Accuracy was 97 percent. 34 Scores have increased from 90 percent for the 2015 Star Ratings to 96 percent for the 2025 Star Ratings for Plan Makes Timely Decisions about Appeals measure, and from 88 percent to 95 percent during the same time period for the Reviewing Appeals Decisions measure. 35 CY 2025 Rate Announcement.pdf (cms.gov) – see page 147.