For years, Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) have been an important tool for Medicare Advantage plans, helping organizations gather member health information, identify care gaps, and support quality initiatives. As plans look ahead to 2027 and beyond, HRAs are entering a new chapter.
While HRAs will no longer be tied directly to Star Ratings performance, their value has not diminished. In fact, they remain one of the most effective mechanisms for collecting the comprehensive member data needed to support risk adjustment accuracy, compliance requirements, and proactive population health strategies.
The question for health plans isn't whether HRAs still matter. It's how to continue reaching members efficiently and capturing meaningful health information in an increasingly competitive engagement environment.
The removal of HRAs as a Star measure may change how plans evaluate program success, but it does not eliminate the underlying business and clinical needs they address.
HRAs continue to help health plans:
Improve risk adjustment accuracy
Identify previously unreported conditions
Support regulatory and compliance requirements
Gain a more complete understanding of members' health and social needs
Drive targeted care management interventions
Strengthen member engagement strategies
Simply put, the information collected through HRAs continues to play an essential role in ensuring plans have a complete picture of their populations.
One challenge has never changed: member participation.
Many plans struggle to connect with members, gather timely information, and maintain engagement throughout the year. Traditional outreach methods often produce inconsistent results, leaving plans with gaps in the data needed for effective care and risk management.
This is where community pharmacy can make a meaningful difference.
As one of healthcare's most accessible touchpoints, pharmacists interact with members far more frequently than many other providers. These trusted relationships create opportunities to engage members in conversations about their health and complete HRAs in a convenient, familiar setting.
At Outcomes, we believe community pharmacy is uniquely positioned to help health plans maximize the value of their HRA programs.
Through Outcomes' robust Pharmacy Network, we enable plans to extend their member outreach into thousands of trusted community pharmacy locations nationwide, providing members with additional opportunities to complete assessments while receiving care and support from trusted healthcare professionals.
The approach is already generating meaningful engagement. Our program has produced approximately 110,000 completed HRAs within roughly the first 10 months of activation.
These results illustrate the potential of pharmacy-based engagement to expand reach, improve completion rates, and support health plans' ongoing risk adjustment and compliance objectives.
As Medicare Advantage continues to evolve, successful organizations will focus on programs that deliver value beyond a single measure.
HRAs remain a foundational tool for understanding member needs, supporting risk adjustment accuracy, and meeting compliance goals. Plans that continue investing in effective HRA strategies will be better positioned to drive better outcomes, improve operational performance, and create more personalized member experiences.
At Outcomes, we're committed to helping health plans adapt to these changing requirements through innovative pharmacy-powered engagement programs that make it easier to connect with members and capture the insights that matter most.
The measure may be changing, but the importance of the HRA is not.