Taking Time to Get Stars Right

This week, as we urged, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hit the pause button on the release of its proposed hospital quality “star ratings.” Hospitals strongly support providing consumers with useful information when it comes to the quality of the care they provide, but the agency’s proposal wasn’t ready for primetime, as we repeatedly impressed upon the agency. More than half of Congress agreed and asked CMS to delay to give it time to review and revise its methodology. We commend CMS for its commitment to getting it right. And we’ll be working with the agency to make sure hospitals’ concerns are addressed, and that any rating system going forward accurately reflects the quality of care provided and helps consumers make informed health care choices.