MEDICARE MINUTE
Compare the Quality of Medicare Health & Drug Plans When you visit Medicare.gov/plan-compare to find and compare health and drug plans, you’ll see a star rating system for Medicare health and drug plans. The overall star rating gives an overall rating of the plan’s quality and performance for the types of services each plan offers. For plans that cover health services, this is a summary rating of health plan quality for many medical/health care services that fall into 5 categories and includes: 1. Staying healthy—screenings, tests, and vaccines: Whether members got various screenings, tests, vaccines, and other check-ups to help them stay healthy. 2. Managing chronic (long-term) conditions: How often members with certain conditions got recommended tests and treatments to help manage their condition. 3. Member experience with health plan: Member surveys about the plan. 4. Member complaints and changes in the health plan’s performance: How often members had problems with the plan. Includes how much the plan’s performance improved (if at all) over time. 5. Health plan customer service: How well the plan handles member calls and questions. For plans that cover prescription drugs, this is a summary rating of drug plan quality for drug-related services that fall into 4 categories and includes: 1. Drug plan customer service: How well the plan handles member calls and questions. 2. Member complaints and changes in the drug plan’s performance: How often members had problems with the plan. Includes how much the plan’s performance improved (if at all) over time. 3. Member experience with drug plan: Member surveys about the plan. 4. Drug safety and accuracy of drug pricing: How accurate the plan’s pricing information is and how often members with certain medical conditions are prescribed drugs in a way that’s safer and clinically recommended for their condition. For plans that cover both health services and prescription drugs, the overall star rating for quality and performance covers all of the topics above. You can compare the quality of health care providers and Medicare plan services nationwide by visiting Medicare.gov or by calling your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Source: Medicare & You Handbook 2022: Section 9, Pg. 112
10
Aging Times Magazine | August 2022
