Utah · Medicare Advantage · 2027 Star Ratings
Utah Medicare Advantage Star Ratings 2027: What Changed
CMS released the 2027 star ratings on October 8, 2026. We matched them to every Medicare Advantage contract and stand-alone drug plan offered in Utah next year. Six of 13 contracts moved, and one drug-plan sponsor jumped a star and a half.
The bottom line
- The 2027 star ratings went live on Medicare Plan Finder on October 8, 2026. They are the ratings you will see during Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7.
- Of the 13 Medicare Advantage contracts offered in Utah for 2027, one is rated 5 stars, three are 4.5, five are 4, one is 3.5, one is 3, and two have no overall rating. None carries CMS's low-performing icon.
- 29 of the 33 plans open to anyone with Parts A and B sit under a contract rated 4 stars or higher. About 97.5% of the Utahns enrolled in these contracts in September 2026 are in one rated 4 or higher for 2027, up from 78.3% using the 2026 ratings.
- Six contracts moved: Regence (3.5 to 4.5), two Humana contracts (3.5 to 4) and one UnitedHealthcare institutional contract (4.5 to 5) went up; Select Health and one Aetna contract went from 4.5 to 4.
- The single 5-star plan in Utah is an Institutional Special Needs Plan for nursing-facility residents in five Wasatch Front and northern counties, so the 5-star Special Enrollment Period is not a general switching window here.
- Stand-alone Part D: Humana's three Utah plans rose from 3 to 4.5 stars. The other five plans are rated 2.5 or 3.
The 2027 Medicare star ratings were published on October 8, 2026, and for Utah they are better than last year's. Nine of the 13 Medicare Advantage contracts offered in the state for 2027 hold an overall rating of 4 stars or higher, compared with six of 15 in the 2026 ratings as CMS last updated them. One contract reached 5 stars, but its only Utah plan is limited to people living in a nursing facility. Stars are a quality score for the insurer's contract; they are one input into a plan choice, alongside your doctors, your prescriptions and the plan's out-of-pocket maximum.
What are the 2027 star ratings, and what do they measure?
Each fall the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) scores every Medicare Advantage and Part D contract from 1 to 5 stars. A contract is the agreement between an insurer and CMS. It usually covers many plans, sometimes in several states, and every plan under it shows the same stars. For 2027, CMS says Medicare Advantage contracts with drug coverage are rated on up to 43 measures, contracts without drug coverage on up to 32, and stand-alone drug plans on up to 13. The measures come from medical records, claims, member surveys, complaints, appeals and call-center tests, and most reflect performance during 2025.
The measure list is published separately: 32 Part C measures and 13 Part D measures, each with a weight. Outcome measures count three times as much as process measures such as screenings, and the quality-improvement measure counts five times. CMS also says the 2027 ratings will affect 2028 Medicare Advantage quality bonus payments, which is part of how a rating today can show up in a plan's benefits two years later.
What changed in how plans are scored for 2027?
CMS changed nine measures for 2027. Two new drug-safety measures were added, two health-outcome measures tripled in weight, and three measures left the ratings. If a contract's stars moved this year, some of the movement comes from the scoring, not only from the care.
| Measure | Part | Change for 2027 | 2027 weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent Use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines | D | New measure | 1 |
| Polypharmacy: Use of Multiple Anticholinergic Medications in Older Adults | D | New measure | 1 |
| Care for Older Adults – Functional Status Assessment | C | Returns after being respecified | 1 |
| Colorectal Cancer Screening | C | Respecified version replaces the old measure | 1 |
| Improving or Maintaining Physical Health | C | Weight raised from 1 to 3 | 3 |
| Improving or Maintaining Mental Health | C | Weight raised from 1 to 3 | 3 |
| Care for Older Adults – Pain Assessment | C | Retired | – |
| Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge | C | Retired | – |
| MTM Program Completion Rate for Comprehensive Medication Review | D | Moved to the display page until the 2029 ratings | – |
Source: CMS, 2027 Star Ratings Measures and Weights — cms.gov (PDF); CMS, 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings fact sheet, October 8, 2026 — cms.gov (PDF).
The two new measures are worth a moment if you take several prescriptions. One tracks how often members are on an opioid and a benzodiazepine at the same time. The other tracks older adults taking more than one anticholinergic drug, a class that includes some bladder, allergy and sleep medicines. Neither changes what your plan covers. They tell you whether the plan's pharmacists and doctors are watching for combinations that raise the risk of falls and confusion.
How did plans do nationally for 2027?
The national picture is mixed. Fewer contracts earned 4 stars or more, but more members are in them, because larger contracts did well.
| Overall rating | Contracts, 2026 | Contracts, 2027 | Share of contracts, 2027 | Share of enrollees, 2026 | Share of enrollees, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 stars | 22 | 15 | 2.95% | 2.43% | 2.25% |
| 4.5 stars | 89 | 65 | 12.8% | 38.78% | 32.7% |
| 4 stars | 118 | 108 | 21.26% | 25.95% | 35.78% |
| 3.5 stars | 166 | 164 | 32.28% | 25.5% | 19.71% |
| 3 stars | 98 | 124 | 24.41% | 6.82% | 8.75% |
| 2.5 stars | 21 | 31 | 6.1% | 0.48% | 0.81% |
| 2 stars | 2 | 1 | 0.2% | 0.04% | 0.01% |
| Total rated | 516 | 508 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
National distribution of overall Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage contracts with drug coverage. The 2026 column reflects CMS's mid-2026 updates. Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding. Source: CMS 2027 Star Ratings fact sheet, Table 1 — cms.gov (PDF).
Two other findings in the fact sheet help when reading a Utah plan's stars. Nonprofit contracts earned 4 or more stars more often than for-profit ones (44% compared with 34%). And contracts with ten or more years in the program were more likely to reach 4 stars than newer ones. 4 contracts nationwide carry the low-performing icon for 2027; none of them serves Utah.
How is every Medicare Advantage contract in Utah rated for 2027?
CMS's 2027 landscape file lists 51 Medicare Advantage plans in Utah under 13 contracts. 33 are open to anyone with Parts A and B who lives in the plan's county, and 18 are Special Needs Plans. We matched each contract to its 2027 rating, its 2026 rating, and its Utah enrollment in September 2026.
| Contract | Marketed as | Plan type | Utah plans | Counties | Utah enrollees, Sept. 2026 | 2026 overall | 2027 overall | Part C | Part D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H0710 | UnitedHealthcare | PPO I-SNP only (nursing-facility residents) | 1 | 5 | 122 | 4.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 5 |
| H2001 | UnitedHealthcare | PPO (incl. D-SNP) | 6 | 29 | 22,505 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| H7617 | Humana | PPO (incl. C-SNP, D-SNP) | 7 | 23 | 20,056 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| H4605 | Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah | PPO | 2 | 4 | 7,080 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 |
| H4604 | UnitedHealthcare | HMO-POS (incl. C-SNP, D-SNP) | 7 | 29 | 103,768 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| H1994 | Select Health | HMO (incl. D-SNP) | 4 | 8 | 52,294 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4.5 |
| H5216 | Humana | PPO (incl. D-SNP) | 7 | 23 | 41,500 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| H5521 | Aetna Medicare | PPO (incl. D-SNP) | 5 | 3 | 6,503 | 4.5 | 4 | 4.5 | 3 |
| H2486 | Humana | HMO | 1 | 4 | 1,826 | 3.5 | 4 | 3.5 | 4 |
| H8649 | Aetna Medicare | HMO (incl. D-SNP) | 2 | 5 | 1,458 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4 |
| H5628 | Molina Healthcare of Utah & Idaho | HMO D-SNP only | 1 | 23 | 3,600 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.5 |
| H4473 | Devoted Health | PPO (incl. C-SNP, D-SNP) | 7 | 11 | 1,420 | Too new | Too new | Too new | Too new |
| H4232 | American Health Advantage of Utah | HMO I-SNP only | 1 | 10 | 34 | Not enough data | Not enough data | Not enough data | 2 |
All Medicare Advantage contracts with at least one plan listed in a Utah county for plan year 2027, sorted by 2027 overall rating. Ratings are contract-level. Enrollment is every plan under the contract in Utah, including employer group plans; CMS suppresses county-plan counts of 10 or fewer. The 2026 column uses CMS's July 22, 2026 table, in which some contracts' 2026 overall ratings were updated after the original October 2025 release. Sources: CMS 2027 and 2026 Star Ratings data tables — cms.gov; CMS CY2027 Landscape file — cms.gov; CMS Monthly Enrollment by Contract/Plan/State/County, September 2026 — cms.gov. Public CMS data, shown for comparison only; not a recommendation of any plan.
Share of the 262,166 Utahns enrolled in these 13 contracts in September 2026, by the contract's 2027 overall rating. Our tabulation of the CMS files cited above.
Three things stand out. First, the two contracts with the most Utah members, UnitedHealthcare's H4604 and Select Health's H1994, are both at 4 stars for 2027, which is why nearly four in five enrollees sit in the 4-star row. Second, Select Health's overall rating slipped a half star even though its Part D rating rose from 3 to 4.5, a reminder that the overall score is a weighted blend and not an average of the two summary ratings. Third, the same insurer can hold contracts with different ratings: Humana has three in Utah at 4.5, 4 and 4, and UnitedHealthcare has three at 5, 4.5 and 4. The contract ID is the first five characters of the plan ID on Plan Finder.
How many 4-star-or-better plans are offered in your county?
Counting only plans open to the general Medicare population, Salt Lake, Utah and Davis counties each have 28 plans for 2027, 24 of them under a contract rated 4 stars or higher and 8 under one rated 4.5. In Washington County, 12 of 13 plans are at 4 or higher. In Cache County all 14 are. In 15 of the 27 counties with at least one such plan, every plan is rated 4 or higher. Daggett and Wayne counties have only Special Needs Plans for 2027.
| County | Plans open to all, 2027 | Contracts | Rated 4.0 or higher | Rated 4.5 | Too new to rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake | 28 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 3 |
| Utah | 28 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 3 |
| Davis | 28 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 3 |
| Weber | 24 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 3 |
| Morgan | 16 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 3 |
| Summit | 16 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 3 |
| Duchesne | 15 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Tooele | 15 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Wasatch | 15 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 |
| Cache | 14 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| Juab | 14 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| Washington | 13 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Box Elder | 12 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Grand | 12 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Iron | 12 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Beaver | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Emery | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Garfield | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Kane | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Millard | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| San Juan | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Rich | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Carbon | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Piute | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Sanpete | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Sevier | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Uintah | 6 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Daggett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah (distinct plans) | 33 | 10 | 29 | 10 | 3 |
All 29 Utah counties. “Plans open to all” excludes Special Needs Plans. “Rated 4.0 or higher” includes the 4.5-star plans. Statewide, 19 plans are at 4 stars, 10 at 4.5, 1 at 3.5 and 3 are too new to rate. Our tabulation of the CMS CY2027 Landscape file and 2027 Star Ratings summary table — cms.gov.
Plan counts shifted this year as well as ratings. Our county-by-county look at which Medicare Advantage plans changed in Utah for 2027 covers premiums, out-of-pocket maximums and which counties gained or lost options.
Can you use the 5-star Special Enrollment Period in Utah for 2027?
For most people, no. Medicare.gov's rule is that if a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare drug plan or Medicare Cost plan with a 5-star rating is available in your area, you can switch to it once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year. For 2027, one 5-star contract serves Utah: H0710. Its only Utah plan is an Institutional Special Needs Plan for people who live in a participating nursing facility, offered in Box Elder, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. You have to meet that eligibility rule to join it, in any enrollment period.
If you or a parent do live in a nursing facility in one of those counties, the plan is worth asking the facility about, and Medicare.gov attaches a caution to any 5-star switch: if you move from a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage to a 5-star plan without it, you may lose drug coverage until your next enrollment opportunity and could owe a Part D late enrollment penalty.
The opposite rule also exists. Medicare.gov says anyone in a plan rated below 3 stars for the last three years can switch at any time. No contract in Utah carries CMS's low-performing icon for 2027, so that window does not apply here. That leaves the ordinary calendar: Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7 for a January 1 start, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31 for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan.
How are Utah's stand-alone Part D plans rated for 2027?
If you have Original Medicare with a Medigap policy, your star rating question is about a stand-alone drug plan. Utah has 8 for 2027, sold statewide under 4 contracts. The notable change is Humana's contract, which rose from 3 stars to 4.5 and covers three of the eight plans. Nationally only 11 of 41 rated stand-alone drug contracts (27%) reached 4 stars.
| Stand-alone Part D plan (2027) | Contract-plan | 2026 Part D rating | 2027 Part D rating | Monthly premium | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellcare Value Script | S4802-162 | 3.5 | 3 | $5.30 | $700 |
| Wellcare Classic | S4802-021 | 3.5 | 3 | $7.30 | $700 |
| Humana Basic Rx Plan | S5884-147 | 3 | 4.5 | $30.60 | $700 |
| Humana Value Rx Plan | S5884-210 | 3 | 4.5 | $34.70 | $687 |
| AARP Medicare Rx Saver from UHC | S5921-375 | 2 | 3 | $92.70 | $700 |
| HealthSpring Assurance Rx | S5715-048 | – | 2.5 | $94.80 | $700 |
| Humana Premier Rx Plan | S5884-177 | 3 | 4.5 | $134.00 | $350 |
| AARP Medicare Rx Preferred from UHC | S5921-412 | 2 | 3 | $238.00 | $300 |
All stand-alone Part D plans listed for Utah for 2027, sorted by premium. Ratings are contract-level. A dash means the contract was not in Utah's 2026 landscape file. Sources: CMS CY2027 Landscape file, Utah rows — cms.gov; CMS 2027 and 2026 Star Ratings data tables — cms.gov. Public CMS data, not a recommendation.
For a drug plan, the stars matter less than the math. Thirteen measures cannot tell you whether your prescriptions are on the 2027 formulary at a pharmacy near you, and that drives what you pay up to the $2,400 out-of-pocket threshold the landscape file lists for 2027. Our guide to Utah's 2027 stand-alone Part D plans walks through premiums and deductibles plan by plan.
How should you use the new ratings before December 7?
- Start with fit, then use stars. Confirm your doctors are in the 2027 network and your drugs are on the 2027 formulary. Compare star ratings among the plans that pass.
- Find your contract. Your plan ID begins with the contract number, such as H4604 or H1994. Look it up in the table above; the plan name alone will not tell you which rating applies.
- Open the measure detail on Plan Finder. Click a plan's stars to see each measure. Weigh the ones that match your health: blood-sugar and blood-pressure control, medication adherence, getting appointments, or how quickly appeals are decided.
- Read a half-star change in context. Cut points reset every year and nine measures changed for 2027. A move from 4.5 to 4 is not a reason to leave a plan that still covers your doctors and prescriptions.
- Do not penalize a blank. “Too new to be measured” means not yet scored.
- Put the plan's out-of-pocket maximum in your retirement budget. Stars measure quality, not cost. The number that matters for income planning is the most you could owe in a bad health year, plus premiums.
- Get unbiased help at no charge. Utah SHIP counselors at (877) 424-4640 can pull up every plan's ratings and costs with you.
Bring your plan's Annual Notice of Change, your doctor list and your medications. We will look up your contract's 2027 rating measure by measure and show where network and drug coverage matter more than the stars. Plain English, no pressure. Education, not advice. We do not offer every plan available in your area. By calling or texting, you agree we may contact you at the number you provide; reply STOP to opt out.
Talk to a planner →Frequently asked questions
When did the 2027 Medicare star ratings come out?
CMS published the 2027 Star Ratings on the Medicare Plan Finder on October 8, 2026, one week before Open Enrollment opens on October 15. They are the ratings shown next to every 2027 plan a Utah retiree can pick between October 15 and December 7, 2026. They are based mostly on how each contract performed during 2025, and CMS says they will affect 2028 Medicare Advantage quality bonus payments.
Is there a 5-star Medicare Advantage plan in Utah for 2027?
One contract that serves Utah earned 5 stars: H0710, which in Utah offers a single Institutional Special Needs Plan for people who live in a participating nursing facility, in Box Elder, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. It is not open to the general Medicare population. Among plans anyone with Parts A and B can join, the highest 2027 overall rating in Utah is 4.5 stars, held by three contracts. No stand-alone Part D plan anywhere in the country earned 5 stars for 2027.
Can I use the 5-star Special Enrollment Period in Utah in 2027?
Only if you qualify for the one 5-star plan offered here. Medicare.gov says that if a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare drug plan or Medicare Cost plan with a 5-star rating is available in your area, you can switch to it once between December 8 and November 30 of the following year. The only 5-star plan in Utah for 2027 is an Institutional Special Needs Plan, and you must meet that plan's eligibility rule to join it. For everyone else in Utah the ordinary calendar applies: Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7, and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31.
Which Utah Medicare Advantage contracts changed rating for 2027?
Six of the 13 moved. Four went up: Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah's PPO contract (H4605) from 3.5 to 4.5 stars, Humana's PPO contract H5216 and HMO contract H2486 from 3.5 to 4, and UnitedHealthcare's institutional contract H0710 from 4.5 to 5. Two went down a half star, from 4.5 to 4: Select Health's HMO contract (H1994) and Aetna's PPO contract (H5521). Five rated contracts held the same rating, and two have no overall rating in either year. The 2026 figures are from the table CMS updated on July 22, 2026.
Does a lower star rating mean I should leave my plan?
Not by itself. A half-star change is common; CMS's fact sheet calls year-over-year changes normal and expected because the cut points are recalculated every year. The rating describes the whole contract, often across several states, on dozens of measures. It does not tell you whether your doctors are in the 2027 network, whether your prescriptions are on the 2027 formulary, or what your out-of-pocket maximum will be. Check those in your Annual Notice of Change first, then use the stars to compare the plans that still fit.
Why do some Utah plans show no star rating?
Because CMS needs a full measurement year and enough members to score a contract. Devoted Health's Utah contract (H4473) is listed as too new to be measured for 2027, and American Health Advantage of Utah's institutional contract (H4232) is listed as not having enough data for an overall rating, though it has a Part D rating of 2 stars. A blank is not a low score. Judge an unrated plan on its network, drug list and costs.
Sources
- CMS — 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings fact sheet, October 8, 2026 (measure counts; methodology changes; Table 1 and Table 2 distributions; tax status and years in program; Appendix Tables A1 and A2): cms.gov — fact sheet (PDF)
- CMS — 2027 Star Ratings Measures and Weights (32 Part C and 13 Part D measures, weights, added and removed measures): cms.gov — measures list (PDF)
- CMS — Part C and D Performance Data: 2027 Star Ratings data tables (October 8, 2026) and 2026 Star Ratings data tables (summary ratings updated July 22, 2026): cms.gov — performance data
- CMS — CY2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape file, Utah rows (contracts, plans, counties, premiums, deductibles): cms.gov — landscape files
- CMS — Monthly Enrollment by Contract/Plan/State/County, September 2026 (Utah enrollment by contract): cms.gov — enrollment data
- Medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods (5-star Special Enrollment Period, once between December 8 and November 30 the following year; drug-coverage cautions; plans rated below 3 stars for the last 3 years): medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods
- Medicare.gov — Joining a plan (Open Enrollment October 15 to December 7; Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period January 1 to March 31): medicare.gov — Joining a plan
- Utah Insurance Department — Medicare / Medigap / Medicare Advantage consumer page (Utah SHIP (877) 424-4640): insurance.utah.gov
About this article. Written by the Utah Retirement Income Data Desk and reviewed by Brian Penner, Retirement income & long-term care planner. Educational only — not medical, financial, or legal advice. Star ratings, measure weights, national distributions and enrollment-period rules are taken from CMS's 2027 Star Ratings fact sheet, measures list and data tables and from Medicare.gov as of October 13, 2026; the Utah contract, plan, county and enrollment figures are our own tabulation of the CMS CY2027 landscape file, the 2027 and 2026 Star Ratings summary tables and CMS's September 2026 contract and plan enrollment file. CMS can update ratings and plan listings after publication. Contract and plan names are public CMS data shown for comparison and are not endorsements or recommendations; check current ratings on Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE before you act. Utah Retirement Income is a licensed independent insurance agency (NPN 16493717) and is not a government agency; we are not connected with or endorsed by Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, or any government program, and nothing here should be read as an endorsement by them. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area; please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program — in Utah, the Utah SHIP — to get information on all of your options. A $0-premium plan is not free; you still pay Part B premiums and cost-sharing. If you call or text us, you consent to be contacted at the number you provide about your options; message and data rates may apply, and you can opt out at any time by replying STOP.