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How to read the tables
Four things are worth knowing before you scan down a column.
- The -E suffix means ECDS. NCQA appends it to measures specified for Electronic Clinical Data Systems reporting. BCS-E is the ECDS version of Breast Cancer Screening. In everyday use people still say BCS.
- CMS and NCQA name the same measure differently. GSD is "Diabetes Care – Blood Sugar Controlled" in the CMS tables. EED is "Diabetes Care – Eye Exam." CBP is "Controlling Blood Pressure." If you are reconciling a vendor report against a CMS file, this is usually why the names do not line up.
- The weight column is the 2027 Star Ratings, which score measurement year 2025. Weight 5 goes to the two improvement measures, 3 to outcome and intermediate outcome measures, 2 to patient experience, complaints and access, 1 to process measures.
- A HEDIS measure is not automatically a Star measure. CMS adds and removes measures through rulemaking, usually after a display period. The last table on this page collects the acronyms that come up constantly in quality meetings but carry no star.
Part C clinical measures in the 2027 Star Ratings
These are the NCQA-specified measures CMS rates on the Part C side. Reporting method is the MY2026 method, which is what a plan is collecting now.
| Acronym | Measure | 2027 weight | Reporting method (MY2026) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BCS-E | Breast Cancer Screening | 1 | ECDS | Ages 40–74 since MY2025 |
| COL-E | Colorectal Cancer Screening | 1 | ECDS | Respecified version enters for 2027 and is treated as a new measure, so no cut-point guardrail |
| CBP | Controlling High Blood Pressure (CMS: Controlling Blood Pressure) | 3 | Hybrid | In |
| GSD | Glycemic Status Assessment for Patients With Diabetes (CMS: Diabetes Care – Blood Sugar Controlled) | 3 | Hybrid; voluntary ECDS version (GSD-E) from MY2027 | In |
| EED | Eye Exam for Patients With Diabetes (CMS: Diabetes Care – Eye Exam) | 1 | Administrative; NCQA retired the hybrid method for MY2025 | Proposed for removal in the CY2027 rule. CMS did not finalize it. |
| KED | Kidney Health Evaluation for Patients With Diabetes | 1 | Administrative | In |
| SPC | Statin Therapy for Patients With Cardiovascular Disease | 1 | ECDS (SPC-E) from MY2026 | Removed beginning with the 2028 Star Ratings; moves to the display page |
| TRC | Transitions of Care | 1 | Hybrid; ECDS version arrives MY2028 | In |
| FMC | Follow-Up After Emergency Department Visit for People With Multiple High-Risk Chronic Conditions | 1 | Administrative | In |
| COA | Care for Older Adults (SNP contracts) | 1 each | Hybrid; ECDS version arrives MY2028 | Medication Review and Functional Status Assessment are rated for 2027. Pain Assessment was removed beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings. |
| OMW | Osteoporosis Management in Women Who Had a Fracture | 1 | Administrative | In |
| PCR | Plan All-Cause Readmissions | 3 | Administrative | In |
| MRP | Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge | — | One of the four indicators inside TRC | Removed as a standalone Star measure beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings |
| DSF-E | Depression Screening and Follow-Up for Adolescents and Adults | — | ECDS | Arrives as a Part C Star measure with the 2029 Star Ratings, measurement year 2027 |
Functional Status Assessment inside COA is also new for 2027. It returned after a substantive specification change, which CMS treats as a new measure, so it has no cut-point guardrail either.
Part C survey and plan-operations measures
The rest of the Part C ratings come from surveys and from CMS's own operational data. These have source acronyms rather than measure acronyms, which is a common source of confusion: people say "our CAHPS is down" when they mean one of seven separate ratings.
| Acronym | What it is | Ratings it produces in 2027 | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAHPS | Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, the annual member experience survey | Getting Needed Care; Getting Appointments and Care Quickly; Customer Service; Rating of Health Care Quality; Rating of Health Plan; Care Coordination; Annual Flu Vaccine | 2, except Annual Flu Vaccine at 1 |
| HOS | Medicare Health Outcomes Survey, a two-year cohort survey | Improving or Maintaining Physical Health; Improving or Maintaining Mental Health; Monitoring Physical Activity; Reducing the Risk of Falling; Improving Bladder Control | 3 for the first two, 1 for the rest |
| CTM | Complaints Tracking Module, where CMS logs member complaints | Complaints about the Health Plan (Part C) and Complaints about the Drug Plan (Part D) | 2 |
Both HOS outcome measures moved from weight 1 in the 2026 ratings to weight 3 in the 2027 ratings. Nothing about the measures changed between those two years, which makes it an easy miss in a forecast. Four more Part C ratings have no acronym in common use: Special Needs Plan (SNP) Care Management, Plan Makes Timely Decisions about Appeals, Reviewing Appeals Decisions, and Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability. All four are on the removal list below, along with Members Choosing to Leave the Plan.
Part D measures in the 2027 Star Ratings
Part D measures are stewarded by PQA, not NCQA, and they are calculated from prescription drug event data rather than clinical records. That is why an adherence number moves on a different clock from a HEDIS gap.
| Acronym | Measure | 2027 weight | Data source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC-DR | Medication Adherence for Diabetes Medications | 3 | Prescription drug event (PDE) data | Case-mix adjusted version begins with the 2028 Star Ratings |
| PDC-RASA | Medication Adherence for Hypertension (RAS antagonists) | 3 | PDE data | Case-mix adjusted version begins with the 2028 Star Ratings |
| PDC-STA | Medication Adherence for Cholesterol (Statins) | 3 | PDE data | Case-mix adjusted version begins with the 2028 Star Ratings |
| SUPD | Statin Use in Persons With Diabetes | 1 | PDE plus medical claims | In |
| COB | Concurrent Use of Opioids and Benzodiazepines | 1 | PDE data | New for 2027, so no cut-point guardrail while it is new |
| Poly-ACH | Polypharmacy: Use of Multiple Anticholinergic Medications in Older Adults | 1 | PDE data | New for 2027, so no cut-point guardrail while it is new |
| MPF | Medicare Plan Finder Price Accuracy | 1 | Plan-submitted pricing files | Removed beginning with the 2029 Star Ratings |
| MTM CMR | MTM Program Completion Rate for Comprehensive Medication Review | — | Plan-reported | Removed beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings. Display page for MY2025 and MY2026, then returns as a new measure with the 2029 Star Ratings. |
The remaining Part D ratings are Drug Plan Quality Improvement at weight 5, the four survey and operational ratings (Rating of Drug Plan, Getting Needed Prescription Drugs, Complaints about the Drug Plan, Members Choosing to Leave the Plan) at weight 2, and Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability at weight 2.
HEDIS acronyms that carry no star
These come up in the same meetings and get treated as Star measures by mistake. None of them is in the 2027 Star Ratings measure set.
| Acronym | Measure | Reporting method | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAF-E | Follow-Up After Acute and Urgent Care Visits for Asthma | ECDS | New for MY2026; replaces the retired AMR |
| AIS-E | Adult Immunization Status | ECDS | Pneumococcal denominator expands to age 50 and older for MY2027 |
| AMM | Antidepressant Medication Management | Retired by NCQA effective MY2025 | Acute phase 84 days, continuation phase 180 days (historical) |
| BPD-E | Blood Pressure Control for Patients With Diabetes | ECDS | Voluntary reporting from MY2026 |
| CCS-E | Cervical Cancer Screening | ECDS | The MY2026 technical update added self-collected HPV samples to the value set |
| CGD-E | Continuous Glucose Monitoring Utilization for Patients With Diabetes | ECDS | New for MY2027 |
| COF-E | Follow-Up After Positive Colorectal Cancer Non-Invasive Screening Test | ECDS | New for MY2027; closes the loop COL leaves open |
| FUH | Follow-Up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness | Administrative | 7-day and 30-day rates |
| HDO, COU | Use of Opioids at High Dosage; Risk of Continued Opioid Use | Administrative | Both proposed for retirement after MY2027; NCQA decides after its September 2026 committee review |
| HFO, HFG, HFC, HFU | Acute Hospitalizations Following Outpatient Orthopedic, General, Colonoscopy and Urologic Surgery | Administrative | New for MY2026 |
| SNS-E | Social Need Screening and Intervention | ECDS | The MY2026 technical update dropped G0136 from the screening numerator after the CY2026 fee schedule repurposed the code |
| SPD-E | Statin Therapy for Patients With Diabetes | ECDS | Moved to ECDS for MY2026 |
| TSC-E | Tobacco Use Screening and Cessation Intervention | ECDS | New for MY2026; replaces the retired MSC |
| GID-E, GIF-E, GIA-E | Person-Centered Outcome: Goal Identification, Goal Follow-Up, Goal Achievement | ECDS | New for MY2027; the first HEDIS credit for longitudinal care-plan work |
What leaves the Star Ratings, and when
The Contract Year 2027 final rule, published April 6, 2026, finalized 11 of the 12 measure removals CMS proposed. None of them changes the 2027 ratings. Removed measures move to the display page and stay publicly reported on cms.gov, so the data collection does not stop.
| Leaves with | Measures |
|---|---|
| 2027 Star Ratings | Care for Older Adults – Pain Assessment; Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge; MTM Program Completion Rate for CMR |
| 2028 Star Ratings | Call Center – Foreign Language Interpreter and TTY Availability (Part C and Part D); Statin Therapy for Patients with Cardiovascular Disease (Part C) |
| 2029 Star Ratings | Plan Makes Timely Decisions about Appeals; Reviewing Appeals Decisions; SNP Care Management; Complaints about the Health/Drug Plan; Members Choosing to Leave the Plan; Customer Service; Rating of Health Care Quality; MPF Price Accuracy |
| Not removed | Diabetes Care – Eye Exam. CMS proposed it and reversed after comment. |
Fewer measures is not lighter work. Total program weight redistributes across what remains, so a surviving measure counts for more than it did the year before. Our full write-up of the rule is in the 2027 Star Ratings changes.
Four acronyms that get mixed up
SPC, SPD and SUPD
Three statin measures, two stewards. SPC (cardiovascular disease) is NCQA's and is a Part C Star measure until the 2028 ratings. SPD (diabetes) is NCQA's and has never been a Star measure. SUPD (Statin Use in Persons With Diabetes) is PQA's and is a Part D Star measure at weight 1. SPD and SUPD describe the same clinical idea with different specifications, different data, and different owners.
COA is three ratings, not one
Care for Older Adults applies only to SNP contracts and produces separate ratings for Medication Review, Functional Status Assessment and Pain Assessment. Pain Assessment left the ratings for 2027. Functional Status Assessment came back for 2027 after a respecification. So a plan that "reports COA" is reporting two rated indicators this cycle, not three, and not one.
MRP lives in two places
Medication Reconciliation Post-Discharge is one of the four indicators inside the HEDIS Transitions of Care measure, alongside Notification of Inpatient Admission, Receipt of Discharge Information, and Patient Engagement After Inpatient Discharge. CMS also rated it as a standalone Star measure. The standalone rating is gone beginning with the 2027 Star Ratings. The indicator inside TRC is not.
HOS is a survey, not a measure
The Health Outcomes Survey is the instrument. It produces five Part C ratings, two of which now carry a weight of 3. When someone says a HOS score dropped, ask which of the five.
Where this list changes next
- September 2026. NCQA's measurement committees review the ten MY2027 retirement proposals: DBM-E, OED, TFC, DMH, DSU, SMD, SMC, HDO, COU and LDM. None is a Star measure.
- October 2026. CMS publishes the 2027 Star Ratings, which drive 2028 quality bonus payments.
- March 2027. The HEDIS technical update carries corrections and any finalized retirements out of Volume 2.
- MY2028. ECDS versions of TRC and COA arrive, and the denied-claims exclusion comes out of 21 measures, including PCR and the four HF measures.
- MY2029 and MY2030. NCQA retires the hybrid method, then runs HEDIS fully digital.
What the acronym does not tell you
An acronym table tells you what a measure is called and what it is worth. It does not tell you which member is one lab result short of closing, or who on your team is supposed to chase it. That gap is where most quality programs actually lose points.
Pelica builds one live member record from claims, EHR, pharmacy, lab and ADT feeds, then puts a copilot next to the team that owns each contract. The Quality & Stars copilot works the list rather than displaying it. At HealthCare Partners, the largest IPA in the country, that closes roughly 90% of BCS and KED gaps in-year and more than 70% of transitions of care gaps within 30 days, with 100% team adoption across 200,000+ patients managed live.
Sources
- CMS: 2027 Star Ratings Measures and Measure Weights (Part C and Part D tables, additions and removals)
- CMS: Contract Year 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule fact sheet (the 11 finalized removals)
- NCQA: HEDIS MY 2026, what's new, what's changed, what's retired
- NCQA: HEDIS MY 2027, what's new, what's changed, what's retired
- NCQA: HEDIS Electronic Clinical Data Systems (ECDS) reporting
- PQA: measure implementation in CMS quality programs