The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is delaying the release of the hospital star ratings from April until June due to an error in one of the measures.
CMS is updating the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings on the Care Compare website from April until July so it can correct a calculation error in the calendar year 2021 results for the OP-10 outpatient imaging efficiency measure, according to information posted by the American Hospital Association.
No reason for the error was given.
“As a result of this issue and a commitment to data accuracy, CMS will update the 2021 OP-10 measure results as well as the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings on Care Compare in July 2022 to correct the error and reflect the accurate results,” CMS said.
CMS is not asking hospitals to submit additional data.
Hospitals will be able to preview the updated overall star ratings and OP-10 measure results this spring in their facility-specific reports, the agency said.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The recalculation is not expected to impact CY 2022 payment determinations, CMS said.
“These measure results are for CY 2023 payment determination, and were initially scheduled for preview release in spring 2022,” CMS said. “CMS intends for the calculation error to be corrected in this and in future reporting of results for the OP-10 measure.”
Hospital star ratings are used in programs, such as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, that affect reimbursement.
THE LARGER TREND
The overall rating shows how well each hospital performed on an identified set of quality measures compared to other hospitals in the U.S. The more stars, the better a hospital performed on measures across five areas of quality.
The measure groups are for mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience and timely and effective care.
In April 2021, 13.5%, or 455 of 4,586 hospitals, received five stars; 988 received four stars; 1,018 received three stars; 690 received two stars; and 204 received one star.