AHA-Commissioned Expert: CMS Star Ratings Methodology is “Entirely Subjective"

​The approach taken by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in its hospital quality star ratings "appears to have several shortcomings," according to an expert analysis commissioned by the American Hospital Association. First, the author, who is chair of economics at Georgetown University, sees no benefit from summarizing such a multidimensional problem with a single measure. Second, he said, the methodology is not explained well. "While it appears to give the impression of being rigorous and objective the estimation aspect is highly dependent on choice of measures and the weighting scheme is entirely subjective and highly determinant of the final outcomes," the author said.