ALEXANDRIA, Va. – 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)

• Devoted Health, Inc. (H7993 – Devoted Health)
• Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (H1230 – Kaiser Permanente Hawaii)
• Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. (H2172 – Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States)

Excellence in Quality Award – PDPs (CMS Contract Number and Name)

• Independent Health Association, Inc. (S4501 – Pharmacy Benefit Dimensions PDP)
• UPMC Health System (S3389 – UPMC Health Plan)
• Lifetime Healthcare, Inc. (S3521 – Excellus Health Plan, Inc)

Quality Improvement Award – MAPDs (CMS Contract Number and Name)

• Centers Plan for Healthy Living, LLC (H6988 – Centers Plan for Healthy Living)
• Essence Group Holdings Corporation (H2610 – Essence Healthcare)