Hospitals have until Oct. 31 to preview their quality data; CMS hospital-specific preview reports for overall quality star ratings will be available to hospitals in mid-October.

America's Essential Hospitals was among those urging the agency to suspend overall star ratings and examine concerns with the methodology.

The committees were convened at the direction of the Department of Health and Human Services and include representatives from members of America’s Essential Hospitals.

Affected providers will be exempt from reporting provisions of the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program, Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, and Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs to hospitals and health care facilities in Federal Emergency Management Agency–designated major disaster counties.

The changes include optimizing the assignment of star categories, eliminating the removal of outliers, and ensuring only hospitals meeting public reporting thresholds are assigned star ratings.

The new rule would affect inpatient operating payments, Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments, and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.

The Hospital Compare refresh includes data on new measures; hospitals can preview their overall star ratings through Aug. 13.

Of the 303 performance measures submitted during the trial period, 65 were determined to have a conceptual basis for adjustment for social risk factors.

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule for calendar year 2018 includes physician payment and quality program changes.

CMS proposes changes related to participation in the merit-based incentive payment system or Advanced Alternative Payment Models tracks.

America’s Essential Hospitals encourages CMS to improve transparency, risk adjust, and reduce regulatory burden for essential hospitals.

Overall star ratings now will be released in October because of issues with data on three measures; hospitals can preview the ratings in July.

The update for the 2018 performance year aligns electronic clinical quality measure specifications with current clinical guidelines and code systems.

CMS updated the Hospital Compare website with new data, including health care–associated infections and HCAHPS survey data.

Hospitals have until May 5 to review overall Hospital Compare star rating and until May 10 to review value-based purchasing hospital-specific reports.

CMS has extended the deadline for submitting certain hospital quality data after receiving reports of system issues and inaccessibility with QualityNet.

Hospitals now have until March 13 — instead of Feb. 28 — to submit electronic clinical quality measure data from 2016 to CMS.

The changes, which reflect stakeholder feedback and the large volume of changes to ICD-10 in FY 2017, will be available on the National Library of Medicine’s Value Set Authority Center this month.

Hospitals can request an exemption from the electronic clinical quality measure reporting requirement in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program.

The agency released software that will help developers build applications for clinicians and their practices and make it easier for organizations to retrieve and maintain QPP measures using the Explore Measures section of the QPP website.

Of particular interest to members of America’s Essential Hospitals are changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and provisions related to telehealth.

The release comes after America’s Essential Hospitals and other hospital groups urged CMS to delay the ratings due to serious concerns with the methodology.

The rule, released July 7, updates physician payment rates for Medicare services and makes changes to physician quality programs.

America’s Essential Hospitals and other hospital groups urge CMS to continue to delay the public release of overall hospital quality star ratings, arguing that the rating methodology is opaque and flawed.

Responding to hospital and other stakeholder concerns, CMS says the delay will allow a greater opportunity to fully understand the impact of the final star ratings methodology.

Material note association concerns about, and help members prepare for, April 21 public release of Hospital Compare star ratings.

In comments to CMS, America's Essential Hospitals argues for a delay to re-evaluate ratings methodology changes and the potential to disproportionately disadvantage essential hospitals.

State hospital association says risk adjusting CMS readmissions methodology results in significantly less variation in measured quality differences among hospitals.

Hospitals paid under IPPS in 67 metropolitan statistical areas will be required to participate in new payment model starting in April 2016

Member leaders attend more than 100 meetings with lawmakers and congressional staff as part of fall Policy Assembly. Event also included insights from policymakers and a Capitol Hill reception honoring 2015 Gage Award recipients.

Feedback due Nov. 17 on provisions to implement MIPS and APM participation incentives; MIPS quality measures of particular interest to hospitals

Updates cover exclusions for submitting electronic immunization data and applicability of submitting summary of care documents for transferring patients.