Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has received 5 out of 5 stars from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its 2020 Medicare plan. Kaiser Permanente is the only Medicare plan in Hawaii and one of just 20 in the nation to receive five stars this year from CMS, a federal agency and division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Medicare Star Quality Ratings for 2020 is based on plans’ performance in measures related to staying healthy, managing chronic conditions, member experience, customer service and pharmacy services. CMS, the agency that oversees Medicare administration, assigns a rating to individual Medicare health plans ranging from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) stars to provide beneficiaries with a way to assess Medicare plans.

Medicare health plans that earn 5 out of 5 stars can participate in a 5-star Special Enrollment Period and continue to enroll new individual Medicare members from Dec. 8 through Nov. 30 of the following year. Beneficiaries who want to change from their current Medicare health plan to a 5-star plan may switch once per plan year during the 5-star Special Enrollment Period.