The AHA yesterday again urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to remove its overall hospital star ratings from Hospital Compare and explore alternative approaches. Commenting on proposed updates to the ratings methodology, AHA noted that further analysis performed after the initial release of the star ratings revealed errors in the execution of the chosen methodology. “CMS’s proposed changes address some of these missteps, and the AHA appreciates the agency’s willingness to receive stakeholder feedback on these changes,” wrote Ashley Thompson, AHA senior vice president of public policy analysis and development. “However, CMS’s own analysis shows that nearly 700 hospitals would experience a change in their star ratings, amplifying our concern about the reliability and accuracy of the chosen methodology. At a minimum, AHA strongly urges CMS to remove the star ratings form Hospital Compare and not republish them until it corrects the errors and outside experts agree that the updated methodology is executed correctly. Even if CMS can improve the implementation of the current methodology, we continue to have significant concerns about the conceptual underpinnings of star ratings. The measures included in the ratings were never intended to create a single, representative score of hospital quality.”

Related News Articles

Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services July 28 announced the creation of a $100 million pilot program to prevent, test for, treat and cure hepatitis C for…
Perspective
Public
The 2025 AHA Leadership Summit wrapped up on July 22, and as always, it was energizing and inspiring to connect with so many talented and dedicated people…
Headline
The AHA July 24 announced it is collaborating with health care technology leader Epic to help hospitals adopt tools that support the early detection and…
Headline
Carolyn Bogard, DNP, R.N., director of care coordination and palliative care at El Camino Health, talks about her system’s use of data to harness the passion…
Headline
The Food and Drug Administration has identified a Class I recall of certain lots of Medline Industries Craniotomy Kits containing recalled Codman…
Headline
Hartford HealthCare in Hartford, Conn., will receive the 2025 AHA Quest for Quality Prize as a result of their sweeping transformation over the past decade —…