Over the past two years I’ve had the privilege, alongside the rest of the Healthmine Consulting and Professional Services team, of serving as a subject matter expert partner for the Health Plan Alliance (HPA) Stars Accelerator and Stars Navigator programs. These year-long collaboratives bring together regional and provider-sponsored health plans committed to improving Medicare Advantage Star Ratings and building the infrastructure needed for long-term quality success and ultimately improves care and experience for members.
Supporting these programs and working with health plans across the country has been one of the most impactful and rewarding experiences of my career.
Themes from HPA participating plans
As we got to know the plans that participated in HPA’s programs, a few themes became clear.
Many regional health plans had new quality leaders that were new to the Star Ratings program and were learning the fundamentals. Unlike national carriers with established vendors and infrastructure, these plans often started from scratch — building work plans, interventions and governance programs from the ground up. It highlighted the challenge of establishing a Star Ratings foundation while managing limited resources.
In 2025, plans are now navigating a tougher Star Ratings environment with budget pressures, learning to do more with less. What stood out was their innovative, cost-conscious approaches that still drive measurable improvement. The collaborative peer-sharing environment fostered by the Health Plan Alliance amplified this innovation, showing the power of open exchange and networked learning.
These mid-sized, regional plans can be highly competitive if they play their cards (and strategies) right. They are also poised to be more nimble than their national counterparts, often with improved connectivity within their organizations that allow for faster decisions — putting quality-improving strategies into action quicker.
But, knowing that so many of them were in the early stages of Star Ratings workplan development, here’s how we helped.
What the 2024 Stars Accelerator programs delivered
The first year of the Stars Navigator program focused on building a strong foundation in the essential components of the Medicare Advantage Star Rating system. Participants spent the year deepening their understanding of how the program works — its measures, methodologies, timelines and operational drivers — and explored what effective Stars governance looks like within a health plan.
Throughout the program year, plans worked through:
- A comprehensive review of the core Stars measures and their performance drivers
- An introduction to the data, processes and operational workflows required to manage Stars effectively
- Foundational discussions on Stars governance, including roles, accountability structures and decision-making frameworks
- Peer learning sessions that allowed plans to share experiences and build confidence in navigating the complexities of Stars
This first-year curriculum created a safe, transparent environment for participants to ask questions, learn together, and establish the governance and foundational knowledge needed to support long-term Star Rating improvement.
The 2025 Stars Navigator program's focus
The Stars Navigator program complements the Accelerator by offering deep, hands-on workshops and strategic working sessions for leaders directly responsible for Stars performance.
Navigator participants engaged in:
- Prioritizing opportunities based on annual Star Rating results
- Strengthening CAHPS, HOS and high-impact measures
- Preparing for the shift to digital HEDIS and hybrid removal
- Developing actionable work plans and presenting project strategies
- Sharing best practices and operational insights across the Alliance
The Navigator is where plans turn learning into implementation — building strategies they take home and operationalize immediately.
Our experience
Over the last two years, our entire team worked closely with HPA and its member plans to facilitate root-cause analysis and guide structured improvement. One key aspect of both programs was to support new and emerging Stars leaders as they built confidence and strategy fluency. Sharing trusted insights and best practices is what made these workshops so effective. The openness and trust within HPA’s community has been exceptional — and it’s what makes collaborative improvement not just possible, but powerful. HPA plans left these programs with strategies, tailored guidance and the tools they need to set quality improvement into motion and earn higher Star Ratings going forward.
Why these two years have been so rewarding
Supporting these programs over two full program cycles reinforced the impact of shared learning, transparent dialogue and data-driven strategy. It has been incredibly fulfilling to help new leaders deepen their understanding of the Star Rating system and build confidence in navigating its complexity. Seeing plan teams grow in capability, confidence, and clarity over two years has been a highlight of this partnership.
Looking ahead
As Medicare Advantage continues to evolve, the demand for strong Stars program leaders and quality improvement focused organizations. Programs like the Stars Accelerator and Stars Navigator provide the structure and community health plans need to succeed.
Our team is grateful to have supported these programs, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration in the future. The insights, relationships, and improvements that emerged are a testament to what can happen when plans come together to learn, share, and innovate.
Mallory has over 15 years of leadership, quality and clinical experience delivering 5-Star quality care for senior populations in managed care plans and assisted living settings. She previously served as the Director of Quality Health Integration at Network Health Plan where she oversaw all regulatory programs and led the plan to achieve 5-Star performance. Mallory is a Registered Nurse and earned her BSN from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
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