Blue Cross and BCN receive 4-Star ratings from CMS

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced its 2024 Medicare Star Ratings. Both our BCN Advantage℠ HMO plan and our Medicare Plus Blue℠ PPO plan captured 4-Star ratings, making our plans once again among the highest rated Medicare Advantage plans in the country.

Star Ratings are CMS’ measure of how well health plans serve MA members. They’re designed to evaluate how well plans that contract with Medicare perform, and to help consumers select a Medicare Advantage plan that works best for them.

“Star Ratings are vital to our mission to serve our Medicare Advantage members,” said Daniel J. Loepp, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan president and CEO. “We value the provider community’s partnership when it comes to delivering exceptional, high-quality care — a key factor that drove our strong ratings.”

Why value-based care matters when it comes to Star Ratings

The measures that the Star Ratings system considers overlap with value-based care model outcomes. Health care providers who are in value-based care arrangements outperform their peers in key measures related to quality and cost, including better performance in rates of breast cancer and colorectal screenings, and diabetic control measures.

“When we look at these performance measures and how our Star Ratings are calculated, it’s clear that value-based care is a winning path forward for everyone,” said Dr. James Grant, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Blue Cross. “We couldn’t have achieved these Star Ratings without our physician partners, and we look forward to the future as we continue to meaningfully engage everyone in value-based arrangements that will benefit our members.”

The goal for the 2025 rating year is to maintain or exceed 4-Star ratings for the PPO and HMO.

A deeper dive into the ratings

Medicare considers five categories when assigning Star Ratings:

• Maintaining health for members, including benefits such as cancer screenings and vaccines
• Managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and blood pressure
• Customer service, including how responsive the plan is, as well as the quality of care that people with the plan receive
• Member complaint reports, which include problems in getting services and decisions on appeals
• Member experience with their plan, quality of care received and access to care

Blue Cross’ 4-Star ratings for 2024 reflect sustained performance in several key areas, including HEDIS^® measures** and CAHPS^® surveys.*** The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, evaluate a member’s experience with their plan, quality of care received and access to care.

**HEDIS^®, which stands for Healthcare Effectiveness and Information Set, is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

***CAHPS^®, which stands for Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research.