Dive Brief:
- One hundred and two hospitals (2.2%) received a five-star quality rating during the most recent review period, according to initial data released by the CMS.
- While the new data show the national distribution of overall star ratings, it does not include star ratings for individual hospitals.
- CMS expects to post complete data on the Hospital Compare website “shortly.’
Dive Insight:
In addition to the 102 five-star hospitals, the ratings broke down as follows:
- Four stars: 934 (20.3%)
- Three stars: 1,770 (38.5%)
- Two stars: 723 (15.7%)
- One star: 133 (2.9%)
The data also show star ratings distribution by bed size, teaching status and safety net status. For example, hospitals with fewer than 100 beds had a mean overall star rating of 3.29 stars, compared with 2.96 stars for hospitals with 100 to 199 beds and 2.81 stars for hospitals with more than 200 beds.
Teaching hospitals had a lower average star rating than non-teaching hospitals (2.87 versus 3.11), similar to the difference seen in safety-net versus non-safety-net hospitals (2.88 versus 3.09)
CMS postponed the ratings’ public release from April to July after 225 House members and 60 senators expressed concern that the system’s design weighed it against hospitals that treat lower-income patients and those needing more complicated procedures.
CMS released the first round of star ratings in April 2015, with 251 hospitals snagging a five-star rating. That number jumped to 548 in July of last year.
In May, CMS announced two innovations to be piloted on HealthCare.gov to help consumers make more informed choices. One lets them to choose among “Simple Choice Plans” that have a uniform set of features to make meaningful comparisons. The other is a quality rating system to inform consumers about the quality of service provided, how other enrollees rate their care and the overall enrollee experience.