CMS holds listening session on overall hospital star ratings

AHA today participated in a listening session held by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to receive additional input on potential changes to the overall hospital star ratings methodology. CMS last month announced plans to update the ratings at Hospital Compare in early 2020, but wait until 2021 to update the methodology, prompting AHA to express disappointment with the agency’s decision “to continue using a hospital star ratings approach plagued by longstanding concerns about its accuracy and meaningfulness." The agency last updated the star ratings in February, when it also requested comments on proposed future changes to the methodology in response to stakeholder feedback.