Medicare Issues Delayed Hospital Star Ratings Despite Criticism
Some of California's best-known hospitals failed to nab 5 stars. But some in the industry say the ratings are an oversimplified judgment of quality. “Hospitals cannot be rated like movies,” says Dr. Darrell Kirch, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Releases Star Ratings For Hospitals
The CMS published the much-anticipated Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings on Wednesday after industry stakeholders and Congress pressured the agency to continue to delay their release. The ratings are a composite metric of one to five stars, with five being the best. They intend to convey the overall quality of nearly 4,000 hospitals in the U.S and are posted to the CMS' Hospital Compare site. (Whitman, 7/27)
California Healthline:
Many Well-Known Hospitals Fail To Score 5 Stars In Medicare’s New Ratings
The federal government released its first overall hospital quality rating on Wednesday, slapping average scores on some of California’s best-known medical centers while awarding top scores to unheralded ones. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rated 3,617 hospitals nationwide on a one- to five-star scale, angering the hospital industry, which has been pressing the Obama administration and Congress to block the ratings. Hospitals argue the ratings will make places that treat the toughest cases look bad, but Medicare has held firm, saying that consumers need a simple way to objectively gauge quality. Medicare does factor in the health of patients when comparing hospitals, though not as much as some hospitals would like. (Rau, 7/27)
The San Diego Union Tribune:
Medicare's Hospital Ratings Pack Surprises, Controversy
Medicare on Wednesday handed out its first-ever set of overall ratings for hospital quality, bestowing a full five stars on only 3 percent of facilities nationwide while scoring many well-known institutions lower than the public might expect...Locally, Scripps Memorial Hospital and Scripps Green Hospital, both in La Jolla, were the only two facilities to get the top rating. Kaiser Permanente and UC San Diego Medical Center earned only three. Paradise Valley Hospital in National City and Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego got four stars apiece despite being much smaller players in the San Diego County market. (Sisson, 7/27)