See the list: 429 hospitals earn 5-star rating

Northwell's Huntington Hospital on Long Island received 5 stars for the second straight year.

Photo: Courtesy Northwell Health

Of 3,093 hospitals rated, 429 earned 5 stars in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 5-star rating system.

This compares to an estimated 455 hospitals when the previous ratings were last released in April 2021.

In the latest ranking, many large health systems had hospitals on the 5-star list.

Large nonprofit Texas health system Baylor Scott & White had six facilities on the 5-star list, including its Medical Center in Marble Falls, Texas; the Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas; Spine and Joint Hospital in Tyler, Texas; its Medical Center in Frisco, Texas; Heart & Vascular Hospital in Dallas; and the Medical Center in Temple, Texas.

Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; its Franciscan Medical Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin; its Red Wing, Minnesota, location; and its Rochester, Minnesota, location; the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida; and the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix made the 5-star list.

Several hospitals within the integrated health system of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center received 5 stars, including UPMC Horizon in Mercer, Pennsylvania; UPMC St. Margaret in Pittsburgh; UPMC Northeast in Seneca, Pennsylvania; and UPMC Pinnacle in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

Other health system hospitals receiving 5 stars included Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City; Memorial Hermann's Sugar Land Hospital in Sugar Land, Texas; Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania; and Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Oregon, and Northwell Health's Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y.

The majority of hospitals received 3 or 4 stars, with 890 hospitals getting 4 stars and that same number receiving 3 stars.

An estimated 192 received the lowest, 1-star rating.

In April 2021, 455 of 4,586 hospitals received 5 stars; 988 received 4 stars; 1,018 received 3 stars; 690 received 2 stars; and 204 received 1 star.

WHY THIS MATTERS 

CMS used updated 2021 data for the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, which are used at its Care Compare website and Provider Data Catalog. 

These star ratings represent the second released since CMS overhauled the ratings' methodology in 2020.

The American Hospital Association released a statement, saying the updates are good, but more work needs to be done.

"The AHA appreciates many of the recent changes that CMS has made to its Overall Star Ratings program, which have made the ratings easier for patients and hospitals to interpret, more transparent, and more balanced in favor of high-priority topics," said Akin Demehin, AHA's senior director of quality and patient safety policy. "However, we believe that CMS still has work to do to improve the Overall Star Ratings program.

"For example, while we agree with the intent of CMS' peer grouping approach – that is, to create a more level playing field among hospitals offering differing levels of care – we believe it still needs improvement to ensure it fosters equitable comparisons," Demehin continued. "We also have encouraged CMS to examine the influence of social drivers of health on star ratings, and consider approaches to ensure the ratings are not unintentionally biased against those hospitals caring for structurally marginalized communities."

THE LARGER TREND

In February, CMS announced it was delaying the release of its hospital star ratings due to an error in one of its measures. CMS said it would update the star ratings in July, reflecting accurate results.

The overall rating shows how well each hospital performed on an identified set of quality measures compared to other hospitals in the United States. 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.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org