PREVENTING THE ARTIFICIAL INFLATION OF STAR RATINGS AFTER THE CONSOLIDATION OF MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS OFFERED BY THE SAME ORGANIZATION.

SEC. 53112. PREVENTING THE ARTIFICIAL INFLATION OF STAR RATINGS AFTER THE CONSOLIDATION OF MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS OFFERED BY THE SAME ORGANIZATION. Section 1853(o)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–23(o)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: “(D) Special rule to prevent the artificial inflation of star ratings after the consolidation of medicare advantage plans offered by a single organization “(i) In general If— “(I) a Medicare Advantage organization has entered into more than one contract with the Secretary with respect to the offering of Medicare Advantage plans; and “(II) on or after January 1, 2019, the Secretary approves a request from the organization to consolidate the plans under one or more contract (in this subparagraph referred to as a ‘closed contract’) with the plans offered under a separate contract (in this subparagraph referred to as the ‘continuing contract’); with respect to the continuing contract, the Secretary shall adjust the quality rating under the 5-star rating system and any quality increase under this subsection and rebate amounts under section 1854 to reflect an enrollment-weighted average of scores or ratings for the continuing and closed contracts, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. “(ii) Application An adjustment under clause (i) shall apply for any year for which the quality rating of the continuing contract is based primarily on a measurement period that is prior to the first year in which a closed contract is no longer offered.” .