With the refresh of Care Compare at the end of April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will update the individual quality measure (QM) thresholds that determine Five-Star Quality ratings.
Unlike prior instances, this rebasing will utilize the
plan proposed in March 2019, but was put on hold due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Under this rebasing, the QM thresholds will be updated every six months by 50 percent of the average rate of improvement in QM scores. For example, if there is an average rate of improvement of two percent, the QM rating thresholds would be raised one percent.
The impact of this rebasing on Five-Star Overall and Quality ratings is not yet known. Providers should review their
Five-Star Preview Reports in QIES when they become available in the coming weeks. CMS will update the Five-Star Technical Users Guide in April with the new QM thresholds.