Dive Brief:
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U.S. News & World Report released its 2018 Best Medicare Plans list that saw Blue Cross Blue Shield plans dominate the top Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Fifteen of the 17 plans on the Part D list are Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
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The Honor Rolls of the Best Medicare Advantage (MA) Plans and Best Part D Plans highlight insurers that “consistently offer highly rated health coverage to Medicare beneficiaries,” according to U.S. News & World Report.
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The U.S. News & World Report rankings come just days after CMS released its Medicare Star Ratings for 2018. Both lists are supposed to help Medicare enrollees, and their caregivers pick the right plans for them.
Dive Insight:
U.S. News & World Report bases its Honor Rolls based on the Medicare Star Ratings for MA and Plan D plans and then applies its methodology that averages each company’s offerings within a state. The insurers named to the Honor Roll must receive an average Star Rating of 4.5 stars or higher across all plans in a state, and all of its plans in the state must earn at least three stars.
Last week, the CMS released its Star Ratings that showed a dip in the number of top-ranking plans. The number of MA enrollees in plans with four or more stars, however, increased to about 73% from last year's 69%. The number of MA plans with prescription drug coverage receiving three and a half stars was 139, while 98 plans earned four stars and 26 earned five stars. No insurers were named as consistently low performers this year.
The CMS also recently announced that Medicare enrollees will have more choices and lower premiums in 2018 and payers have especially show interest in MA. UnitedHealth Group, which is the largest MA payer with about one-quarter of the market, expects half of Medicare beneficiaries will have an MA plan. Humana, the second largest MA payer, is also investing more in both MA and Part D in 2018.