Here’s How Many Hospitals Earned Five Stars From CMS

CMS updated its Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating this week, with the bulk of facilities sitting in the middle of the pack.

Overall, 385 (12%) rated hospitals earned top marks with five stars, while 204 (6.4%) received only one star, according to CMS.

Rounding out the middle, there were 953 (29.8%) facilities with four stars, followed by 991 (30.9%) with three stars, and 670 (20.9%) with two stars.

Each hospital’s star rating summarizes a variety of measures across five areas of quality: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. Quality areas are weighted at 22% each, except for timely and effective care, which is weighted at 12%.

Should a hospital have no measures in a certain area, the weighted percentage is proportionally redistributed to other measures. For example, if a hospital had no measures for patient experience, its 22% weight would be redistributed to yield weights of 28.2% for mortality, safety of care, and readmission, and 15.4% for timely and effective care.

Hospitals report the data used to determine the ratings through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program, Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, and Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program.

The ratings date back to 2016, when they were first released by CMS in an effort to establish a public database of hospital quality, MedPage Today previously reported. However, the ratings have gotten pushback, with experts citing methodology limitations in the past.

A recent cohort study found ratings were associated with better surgical outcomes, but wide variability within each star rating group suggested the ratings may have limited utility for assessing surgical quality.

In 2020, the ratings were paused for evaluation, and a revised version was released in 2021. There have been other updates as well.

For instance, the current methodology was updated per the 2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center payment system final rule, according to CMS.

Beginning in July 2023, Veterans Health Administration hospitals reporting data for included measures were eligible for the ratings. The ratings, however, are not calculated for Department of Defense hospitals.

The full list of hospitals and their latest star ratings is available here.

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