Independent Health earns designation as a 4.5 Star Rated Medicare Plan for 2027

BUFFALO, N.Y. (October 15, 2026) – Independent Health has been recognized as a 4.5 Star Rated Medicare Plan by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2027, earning Western New York’s only 4.5-star Medicare rating on ALL plans.

The annual Star Ratings assess the quality, value and performance of every Medicare Advantage plan throughout the nation. They serve as a helpful and unbiased way for Medicare beneficiaries to compare their medical and prescription drug options during the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, which runs from October 15 through December 7.

For 2027, Independent Health’s Medicare HMO and PPO plans both earned 4.5 Stars, marking 17 consecutive years that Independent Health has achieved 4.5 or 5 Stars for its Medicare HMO plans and 12 consecutive years for its Medicare PPO plans.

In addition, Independent Health subsidiary Pharmacy Benefit Dimensions (PBD) received a 4.5 Star Rating for its Medicare Employer Group Waiver Plan (EGWP) Prescription Drug Plan (PDP). PBD partners with employers and union groups to offer its EGWP PDP to Medicare-eligible retirees and covered Medicare-eligible dependents beyond the standard benefits typically offered by other Medicare prescription drug plans.

How Medicare Star Ratings Work

By using a 5-Star Quality Rating System, with 5 stars being the highest rating, CMS measures Medicare beneficiaries' experience with their health plans and the health care system on an annual basis. Health and pharmacy services are rated together through information gathered from clinicians, member surveys and other trusted sources. Each plan’s overall rating is based on how it performs across the following categories:

• Staying healthy: Rates how often members got various screening tests, vaccines and other checkups to help them stay healthy.
• Managing chronic (long-term) conditions: Rates how often members with different conditions got certain tests and treatments to help them manage their condition.
• Member experience with the plan: Rates member satisfaction with the plan based on how easy it is to get needed care, appointments, information and help from the plan (customer service).
• Member complaints and changes in the plan’s performance: Measures how many complaints Medicare received about the plan, the number of members who chose to leave the plan and how the plan’s quality improved or declined from the previous year.
• Customer service: Rates the timeliness and fairness of the plan’s appeals decisions.
• Drug safety and accuracy of drug pricing: Rates how well the plan prices prescriptions and provides updated information on the Medicare website. Also rates information on how often members with certain medical conditions get prescription drugs that are considered safer and clinically recommended for their condition.

Independent Health is a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract offering HMO, HMO-POS, HMO-SNP and PPO plans. Enrollment in Independent Health depends on contract renewal. Every year, Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system, Based on 2027 Medicare Star Ratings data as of 10/9/2026.

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