CMS Planning Release of hospital death rates

CMS plans to release the first broad comparison of hospital death rates for heart attack and heart failure on its Web site next month. CMS has no plans for any corrective actions for poor performers – rather it hopes to shame hospitals into improving their standards. CMS also plans to highlight only a small percentage of hospitals with the best and worst death rates compared to the national average. Consumers only will be able to see a check mark indicating whether a hospital has scored higher, lower or on par with the national death rates. Most of the checks will be in the box marked "no different" than the national average because CMS said it would not reveal specifics. CMS declined to release hospital names before the data are posted on the Web site, called Hospital Compare. The approach has provoked controversy because physicians and hospitals worry that the analysis does not reveal enough information about the patient mix and demographics. Congress in 2006 authorized CMS to develop a pay-for-performance initiative by 2009, and the agency launched a pilot study with the Premier network of 260 not-for-profit hospitals in 37 states. The hospitals were given bonuses for improving care for patients hospitalized with conditions such as heart attacks and heart failure.