Statement On House Bill Delaying CMS Star Ratings

Tom Nickels
Executive Vice President
Government Relations and Public Policy

July 25, 2016

Patients need clear, meaningful information to make important health care decisions. Yet, thus far, it is unclear whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) star ratings actually provide accurate and reliable data to the public. As a result, we applaud and thank Reps. James Renacci (R-OH) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY) for introducing a bill to delay, for at least one year, the introduction of the CMS hospital star ratings.

Hospitals and members of Congress are in agreement: CMS can do better. The majority of Congress – 60 members of the Senate and more than 225 members of the House – asked CMS to delay and improve upon the star ratings. Our own analysis of preliminary data continues to raise questions and concerns about the methodology, which may unfairly penalize teaching hospitals and those serving the poor.

We continue to urge CMS to work with hospitals and health systems to provide patients with a rating system that accurately reflects the quality of care provided at their facilities, and will work with Reps. Renacci and Rice to move this legislation forward.

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.