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PRESS RELEASE PQA Presents Quality Awards to Eight Medicare Plan Contracts for High Achievement in Medication Quality Measures Awards Honor Excellence and Improvement in Overall CMS Medicare Star Ratings and PQA Medication Measures Alexandria, Va. (May 11, 2023) – The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) has recognized eight Medicare plan contracts with a PQA Laura Cranston Excellence in Quality or Quality Improvement Award for high achievement or significant improvement in PQA measures of medication safety and appropriate use. The awards are based on the published CMS 2023 Medicare Part D Star Ratings. This is the PQA awards’ 13th year and only 1.2% of the 646 eligible Medicare Part D plan contracts qualified for an award. The Excellence in Quality Award recognizes Medicare Advantage Drug Plans (MAPD) and Prescription Drug Plans (PDP). MAPDs are recognized for achieving at least a 4.5-star Part D summary rating and a 5-star rating on all five PQA measures used in the 2023 CMS Star Ratings program. PDPs are recognized for achieving at least a 4.5-star Part D summary rating and at least a 4-star rating on all five PQA measures used in the 2023 CMS program. The Quality Improvement Award recognizes MAPDs and PDPs that received a 5-star rating on the 2023 CMS Quality Improvement measure and the greatest combined improvement in star ratings from 2022 to 2023 on the five PQA medication measures used in the CMS program during this period. “Quality medication use is a high priority for care providers and the Medicare Part D program,” PQA Chief Executive Officer Micah Cost, PharmD, MS, CAE, said. “PQA is proud to recognize eight plans that have demonstrated excellence through their commitment to providing high-quality care for their Medicare members.” This year’s quality awards recipients, presented to the plan’s parent organization, are: Excellence in Quality Award – MAPDs (CMS Contract Number and Name)
Excellence in Quality Award – PDPs (CMS Contract Number and Name)
Quality Improvement Award – MAPDs (CMS Contract Number and Name)
Five PQA-endorsed quality measures are used in the 2023 Medicare Part D Star Ratings program, and several others are used as Display measures. Details on these measures are available at pqaalliance.org/medicare-part-d. CMS evaluates Medicare plans based on a 5-star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next. More information about Star Ratings can be found at Medicare.gov. The awards were named in Cranston’s honor in 2020 in recognition of her 15 years of service as PQA’s founding CEO and contribution to medication quality. They were announced today at the 2023 PQA Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn. ### Contact: Rachel Cormier, Senior Manager, Communications, [email protected] |