Is that hospital where you just had open-heart surgery a five star or a one star? You’ll have to wait until July, at the earliest, to find out.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday delayed implementation of its hospital quality rating system that was set to debut this week amid questions about the methodology being employed.

Members of Congress — nearly half — and the American Hospital Association alike voiced concerns that the methodology overlooked crucial factors, such as the number of patients a hospital was seeing who had multiple chronic conditions and/or low incomes, both factors that often directly affect outcomes.

CMS said it was “committed to quality improvement and transparency for people with Medicare.” CMS administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs.


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