H.R. 10521 — MA STARS Act

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise Medicare Advantage Star Ratings regulations (42 CFR 422.160–422.166) for contract year 2031 and each subsequent year. It requires exclusion of measures unrelated to clinical quality, patient outcomes, or patient experience; not attributable to issuers; based on surveys exceeding 10 questions or lacking diverse, representative responses; or no longer competitive among contracts. New measures may be added only if related to those three domains. Excluded competitive measures must be reported as display-only. The section also establishes two technical expert panels—one on beneficiary survey instruments and one on cut-point methodology—each required to report within two years, and mandates an annual public report on overall ratings distribution and methodology.