Potential 5-Star SEP Disruption Depends on Marketing Prowess

With 74 Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan contracts earning a 5-star rating for 2022, compared with just 21 such plans last year, an unprecedented number of MA-PD plans have the ability to market 5-star products throughout the year — thanks in large part to COVID-related adjustments to the star ratings that are not likely to reoccur. According to multiple industry experts, that anomaly presents a unique set of challenges for plans that weren’t expecting to be 5 stars and could create some unusual midyear enrollment shifts.

That all depends, however, on how aggressive 5-star plans are with their marketing and how many enrollees take advantage of the so-called 5-star special enrollment period (SEP). While MA insurers have the advantage of marketing their 5-star plans year round, enrollees who are in a service area where a 5-star plan is available may switch from their current Medicare plan to a 5-star contract one time between Dec. 8 and Nov. 30.

© 2024 MMIT
Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren Flynn Kelly Managing Editor, Radar on Medicare Advantage

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.

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