Humana shares soar as it becomes the biggest beneficiary of the 2027 Medicare star ratings.
路透社2026/10/09 11:12Reuters, October 9 – In pre-market trading on Friday, shares of Humana (stock code: HUM.N) rose by 15%. Analysts said the health insurer is set to be the biggest beneficiary of the new 2027 Medicare Advantage star ratings. Humana stated that, with improvements in healthcare quality and member experience indicators, 95% of its Medicare Advantage members will be enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher by 2027, a substantial jump from 20% in 2026 (link). JPMorgan analysts noted that they had previously projected this ratio to be between 60% and 70%. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services uses a one- to five-star scale to rate Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Higher ratings lead to government bonuses worth billions of dollars and can help attract more members. Analysts noted that Humana’s ratings performance outpaced its larger competitors: JPMorgan expects the proportion of UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH.N) plans rated four stars or higher to decrease from 81% to about 67%, while CVS Health’s (CVS.N) ratio will fall from 84% to about 70%. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday night that, overall, about 71% (link) of Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan enrollees will be in contracts rated four stars or higher in 2027. Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson said that Humana had improved in prescription drug plan quality, health plan quality, and readmission rates. She added, “This improvement reflects management’s increased focus on these metrics over the past year.” Health insurers provide Medicare Advantage plans for the government to adults aged 65 and older and people with disabilities.
Reuters, October 9 - In pre-market trading on Friday, shares of Humana (stock code: HUM.N) rose 15%, after analysts said that the health insurer is the biggest beneficiary of the 2027 Medicare Advantage new star rating.
Humana said that as healthcare quality and member experience indicators improve, by 2027, 95% of its Medicare Advantage members will be enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher, a significant increase from just 20% in 2026 (link).
Analysts at JPMorgan said they had previously expected this ratio to be 60% to 70%.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services uses a one-to-five star scale to rate Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Higher ratings bring government-awarded bonuses that can total tens of billions of dollars, and help boost plan enrollment.
Analysts said Humana’s ratings performance outpaced its larger competitors: JPMorgan expects UnitedHealth Group (UnitedHealth) UNH.N to see its proportion of four-star and above plans drop from 81% to about 67%, while CVS Health CVS.N will see this percentage fall from 84% to about 70%.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday night that overall, about 71% (link) of Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan members will be signed up to contracts rated four stars or higher in 2027.
Evercore ISI analyst Elizabeth Anderson said that Humana improved in areas such as prescription drug plan quality, health plan quality, and readmission rates.
She said this improvement “reflects the management’s focus over the past year on improving these metrics”.
Health insurers offer Medicare Advantage on behalf of the government for adults aged 65 and older and for people with disabilities.
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