Humana has pulled off a Medicare Advantage star ratings turnaround, with 95% of the insurer’s members in plans rated four stars or higher for 2027, compared to 20% a year ago.
“I’m grateful for what our team accomplished this year, and we’re already looking at what’s next and pushing ourselves to do even more for our members,” President and CEO Jim Rechtin wrote on Linkedin Oct. 9, tying the achievement to preventive care improvements.
Humana shares were up more than 15% on Friday morning at around $450.
In an Oct. 9 regulatory filing, the insurer said it beat its goal of returning to top-quartile results, which measures the stars-related revenue it earns per member compared with its competitors. The 2027 ratings set bonus payments for 2028, when Humana has previously said it is targeting a pre-tax MA margin of at least 3%, though the financial impact will partly depend on how the company performs during the upcoming annual enrollment period.
Five more notes:
1. Across the industry, about 71% of MA enrollees are in plans rated four stars or higher for 2027, up from about 64% last year. About 68% of UnitedHealth’s MA members are in 4+ plans for 2027, down from 78% last year, and Aetna fell to 69% from 81%. Elevance Health fell to 47% from 55% and Centene to about 10% from 20%
2. Humana’s largest MA contract (about 2.4 million members) moved up to four stars from 3.5 last year. The insurer has about 7.2 million MA enrollees in total.
3. About 3 million Humana members are in contracts rated 4.5 stars in 2027, or 42%. Weighted by enrollment, Humana’s average rating is about 4.18, compared with 3.99 across the industry.
4. Of the 30 Humana contracts rated in both years, 19 moved up in 2027, eight held steady and three slipped, though none scored below three stars. Last year, four Humana contracts landed at 2.5 stars.
5. Humana’s standalone Part D plan (about 3.9 million enrollees) climbed to 4.5 stars in 2027 from three.
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