CMS star ratings are out: 4 things to know

By Erica Carbajal for Becker’s Hospital Review

CMS updated its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings on its Hospital Compare website April 28. The updated ratings are based on CMS’ revised methodology.

Four things to know:

1. CMS’ star rating system, launched in 2016, assigns stars based on 48 measures in the following five categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. This differs from CMS’ previous method, which included 65 measures across seven groups.

2. Here is a breakdown of the updated star ratings:

• One-star: 204 hospitals
• Two-stars: 690
• Three-stars: 1,018
• Four-stars: 988
• Five stars: 455

3. Overall, 50 percent of hospitals received the same rating, 45 percent moved up or down by one star, and 5 percent shifted up or down by two or more stars.

4. CMS last updated its star ratings in January 2020.