Report: Hospital star ratings methodology remains volatile for smaller hospitals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ new Hospital Overall Star Ratings methodology preserves some year-to-year stability, but ratings remain volatile for hospitals reporting fewer measures and still don’t provide an apples-to-apples comparison of hospitals, according to an analysis by KNG Health Consulting commissioned by AHA. CMS implemented the new methodology in 2020 and expects this month to update the ratings with 2021 data.  
 
“Based on this analysis, it’s clear that CMS has more work to do to ensure that these ratings are equitable,” write AHA’s Akin Demehin, senior director of quality and patient safety policy, and John Allison, associate director of health analytics and policy, at the AHA Stat Blog.