CMS quality ratings linked to lower readmission, mortality rates

Editor's Note

Hospitals that rank higher in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Hospital Compare star ratings system have lower readmission and mortality rates, compared with those ranked lower in the system, this study finds.

Hospitals with five stars had an 18.7% readmission rate, compared with 22.9% for one-star hospitals. Similarly, five-star hospitals had a 9.8% mortality rate, compared with 11.2% for one-star hospitals.

These findings should be encouraging for policymakers as well as consumers, the authors say.

Of the 3076 hospitals in our sample, 4.1% received 5 stars, 26.2% received 4 stars, 47.0% received 3 stars, 20.3% received 2 stars, and 2.5% received 1 star ( Table 1). In general, 4- and 5-star hospitals were more likely to be small, nonteaching, and located in small rural towns in the Midwest.