get_stars_cutpoints

Get Stars Cutpoints

What it answers

Returns CMS-published per-measure star-level cutpoints (threshold boundaries) for a rating_year. Optional filters: measure_id, org_subtype (MA-PD | PDP | ALL), star_level (1-5).

measure_id is matched on ONE id space: pass 'C09' or 'C09:' — some stored ids carry a trailing colon and both forms return the same rows; returned measure_id values never carry the colon.

Use cases: 'what's the 4-star line for measure C09?'; 'show me cutpoint drift year-over-year'; 'how much would contract H1234 need to improve to reach 5 stars on measure D08?'.

SOURCE: CMS Tech Notes Attachment H (Tukey-aware threshold tables) for RY2024+, Attachment H pre-Tukey for RY2017-RY2023, pre-fixed cutpoints for RY2015-RY2016 (predetermined 4-star thresholds; clustering not yet universal).

CLEAN DATA: backing table follows the silver supersession contract — exactly one row per natural key. Phase 6a inventory verified 1.0× dup factor post-6c migration.

Inputs

rating_year

integer · required

measure_id

string · optional

org_subtype

string · optional

star_level

integer · optional

Call it

From an agent: connect the Vlada MCP once (one click for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code) and ask in plain English; the agent selects get_stars_cutpoints when the question fits. From code: the same tool over REST with an API key. The schema endpoint needs no key.

curl -X POST https://api.vladahealth.com/v1/tools/get_stars_cutpoints \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VLADA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"rating_year":2026}'

curl https://api.vladahealth.com/v1/tools/get_stars_cutpoints/schema      # the JSON schema, no auth
# MCP endpoint (Streamable HTTP): https://mcp.vladahealth.com/mcp

What comes back

Typed rows plus provenance on every answer: the public source file, its vintage, the methodology, and a response_hash you can replay. Prove and replay tools turn any number into a re-runnable receipt. A number the data cannot support comes back as “not in the data”, never as zero.

Sources behind it

medicare_silver.stars_cutpoints

tables: medicare_silver.stars_cutpoints

Known limits

stars_methodology_pdf_uncited

As of the 2026-09-19 build of the served surface · machine-readable catalog · the live server may run a different version; the schema endpoint above is authoritative for what is deployed.