Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has dropped a Medicare Advantage star ratings lawsuit against CMS.
The lawsuit, originally filed March 10 in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenged the accuracy of CMS’ calculation of the company’s 2025 MA star ratings. BCBSM alleged that an incorrect attribution of four “secret shopper” calls made to the phone number for a D-SNP HMO contract resulted in a reduced star rating for a PPO contract, leading to a score of 4 stars instead of the expected 4.5 stars. The discrepancy allegedly caused a loss of $29 million in revenue.
BCBSM argued that CMS’ decision to include the calls, despite them being directed to a separate contract, was in violation of federal law that specifies that star ratings should be calculated at the contract level.
The dispute had been ongoing since late 2024, with BCBSM appealing the original rating in December. CMS had maintained that the calls should be included because of a shared call center for the company’s contracts.
The court dismissed the lawsuit on May 27.
Other insurers have sued over star ratings this year, several of which are still pending final decisions. Florida Blue lost its challenge in May, and CMS revised ratings for UnitedHealthcare and Centene after courts ruled in their favor earlier this year.