Alignment Healthcare Earns 4 Stars or Higher for Six of Seven Eligible Medicare Advantage Contracts in CMS 2027 Star Ratings

Six of seven Alignment Medicare Advantage contracts earned 4+ Stars; California H3815 lagged at 3.5.

What the company is saying

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. highlights that six of its seven Medicare Advantage contracts eligible for CMS 2027 Star Ratings received 4 Stars or higher, with three plans achieving a 4.5-Star Rating. The company frames these results as evidence of its ability to deliver high-quality, coordinated, and culturally responsive care across Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Texas. Alignment draws attention to its California H3815 HMO contract, which received a 3.5-Star Rating, and asserts that this does not accurately reflect the contract’s longstanding quality and outcomes. The company expresses dissatisfaction with the current CMS Star Ratings methodology, citing ongoing legal and policy concerns and industry-wide questions about its accuracy. Dawn Maroney, president of Alignment Health and CEO of Alignment Health Plan, voices support for quality measurement but criticizes the current framework and signals intent to pursue administrative and legal remedies to challenge the H3815 rating. The tone is confident regarding the company’s care model and its prospects for restoring the California contract to at least a 4-Star Rating.

What the data suggests

The CMS 2027 Star Ratings data, published October 8, 2026, shows that out of seven eligible contracts, six earned 4 Stars or higher and three received 4.5 Stars, confirming strong performance across most of Alignment’s Medicare Advantage portfolio. The California H3815 HMO contract’s 3.5-Star Rating is a clear outlier and represents a downgrade relative to the company’s stated expectations, though no historical data is provided to quantify the change. The company’s claim that the H3815 rating does not reflect actual quality is unsubstantiated in the absence of supporting clinical or service measure data. The announcement lacks financial metrics, membership figures, or year-over-year comparisons, limiting the ability to assess the direct business impact or trend. The only concrete, actionable facts are the number of contracts, their Star Ratings, and the company’s intent to challenge the H3815 result through administrative and legal channels.

Analysis

The announcement presents a positive tone, highlighting that six out of seven eligible contracts earned 4 Stars or higher and three achieved 4.5 Stars in the 2027 CMS Star Ratings. These are realised, measurable outcomes and are supported by disclosed numerical data. However, the company also makes unsupported qualitative claims about 'longstanding performance' and 'strong performance across numerous clinical and service measures' without providing any historical or comparative data. Forward-looking statements about pursuing administrative remedies and returning the California H3815 contract to a 4-Star Rating are aspirational and lack a defined timeline or evidence of likelihood. There is no mention of financial metrics, profitability, or operational KPIs, limiting the ability to assess the sustainability or financial impact of these ratings. The gap between narrative and evidence is moderate, as the company uses positive language to frame both realised and aspirational outcomes, but does not overstate future benefits or make extreme claims.

Risk flags

• ●The 3.5-Star Rating for the California H3815 HMO contract poses a risk to Alignment’s competitiveness and potential bonus payments in that market, as contracts rated below 4 Stars may be less attractive to prospective members and may not qualify for certain CMS quality bonuses.
• ●The company’s intent to pursue administrative and legal remedies introduces regulatory and litigation risk, with uncertain timing and outcome, which could distract management and incur additional costs.
• ●Ongoing industry-wide legal and policy concerns about the CMS Star Ratings methodology create systemic risk for all Medicare Advantage providers, as future ratings and associated revenue streams may be subject to further change or challenge.

Bottom line

Alignment Healthcare’s 2027 CMS Star Ratings confirm strong quality performance for the majority of its Medicare Advantage contracts, with six out of seven earning 4 Stars or higher and three achieving 4.5 Stars. The underperformance of the California H3815 HMO contract at 3.5 Stars is a notable setback, especially given the company’s assertion that this does not reflect actual quality, though no supporting data is provided. The absence of financial or membership figures means investors cannot directly assess the revenue or growth impact of these ratings. The company’s plan to challenge the H3815 rating through administrative and legal means adds uncertainty and potential cost. The most actionable takeaway is that Alignment’s core portfolio remains strong, but the California H3815 contract represents a near-term operational and reputational risk. Investors should focus on the outcome of the H3815 rating challenge and any future disclosure of financial or membership impacts tied to these ratings.

Announcement summary

(NASDAQ:ALHC) Alignment Healthcare, Inc. announced its results in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2027 Medicare Advantage (MA) Star Ratings. Six of the company’s seven MA contracts eligible for rating earned 4 Stars or higher. Three of these plans achieved an overall 4.5-Star Rating. The high-performing contracts span Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina and Texas. The company’s California H3815 HMO contract received a 3.5-Star Rating for 2027. Alignment stated that it believes the 3.5-Star Rating for the H3815 contract does not accurately reflect the contract’s longstanding performance on evidence-based measures of quality, clinical outcomes and member experience. CMS’s 2027 Star Ratings were released amid ongoing legal and policy concerns regarding the methodologies used to evaluate MA plan performance. Alignment noted that many stakeholders across the industry continue to raise questions about whether the current Star Ratings framework consistently and accurately reflect care quality, member experience and clinical outcomes. The company maintained strong performance across numerous clinical and service measures evaluated under the CMS Star Ratings program. Dawn Maroney, president of Alignment Health and CEO of Alignment Health Plan, stated that quality measurement only works when the methodology is accurate and expressed concern that the current Star Ratings framework no longer consistently reflects quality, outcomes and member experiences. Maroney also stated that Alignment intends to pursue all available administrative remedies and to litigate the measures and methodologies it believes warrant review. The company’s strategy remains unchanged, and it remains confident in its ability to deliver exceptional care and return its California HMO contract to at least a 4-Star Rating. CMS publishes the Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) and Medicare Part D Star Ratings annually on Medicare.gov. The 5-star ratings system evaluates health plan performance using a range of measures, including feedback from members, healthcare quality indicators, customer service metrics and other clinical performance measures. The information in this release is based on 2027 Star Ratings data published by CMS on Oct. 8, 2026, and plan enrollment as of September 2026.

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