On April 2, CMS published the CY 2027 Final Rule and tripled the weight of two Health Outcomes Survey measures inside the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings. By 2029, HOS and CAHPS will drive close to 40 percent of the total Star Ratings calculation. The shift pulls every health tech vendor that touches a Medicare Advantage member into the Star Ratings conversation, whether or not they have ever positioned their product as Stars-relevant.

In this episode of the Upward Growth Podcast, Ryan Peterson introduces the concept of member memory, a vendor-facing lens for understanding what HOS is actually capturing about the touchpoints a vendor delivers on behalf of a health plan. The episode walks through which categories of vendors are most exposed under the new weighting, a four-stage progression that every vendor should run against each of their health plan customer relationships before their next renewal, and the two questions every health plan will ask in the next renewal cycle.

What you'll hear:

• What member memory is and how it gives a vendor a clearer view of their own role in Medicare Advantage Star Ratings outcomes
• Why HOS and CAHPS will drive close to 40 percent of the total Star Ratings calculation by 2029
• The vendor categories most exposed under the new weighting: risk adjustment, care management, member apps, prior auth automation, behavioral health, and call centers
• The four kinds of member memory and which categories of vendor sit inside each
• A four-stage progression for evaluating where a vendor relationship actually stands with a health plan customer (walked through with a meal delivery example)
• How the CFO filter at health plans is compounding the new HOS weighting and what that means for contracts already on the books
• The two questions every health plan is going to ask in the next renewal cycle and how to know if you can credibly answer them

Read the full analysis in the Upward Growth newsletter: The 2027 Star Ratings Tripled the Weight of Member Experience. Here's What That Changes About Selling to Health Plans.

About Upward Growth: Upward Growth is a health plan market advisory firm. We work with health tech vendors, investors, provider organizations, and management consultancies on how health plans actually buy, operate, and make decisions.

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Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-peterson-1a20866/

Learn more about Upward Growth: https://www.upwardgrowth.com