Hospital Quality Rating Transparency Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5927
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Renacci, James B. [R-OH-16]
Introduced: 2016-07-25
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Government information and archives

Health care quality

Health facilities and institutions

Medicare
Latest action: action_date: 2016-07-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2016-07-25
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Hospital Quality Rating Transparency Act of 2016</strong></p> <p>This bill delays the date upon which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)&nbsp;may&nbsp;make Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings for hospitals publicly available. </p> <p>With respect to such ratings, HHS shall: (1) make publicly available detailed information on the methodology used, (2) have the validity and accuracy of such methodology independently confirmed, and (3) provide a public comment period of specified duration.</p> <p>HHS may not make the ratings publicly available until the later of July 31, 2017, or the date upon which the bill's requirements are satisfied.</p> <p>In the event that such ratings have already been published on a specified website, HHS shall remove them and not republish them until the bill's requirements have been satisfied.</p>

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5927 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 25, 2016 Mr. Renacci (for himself and Miss Rice of New York ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To delay for one year the release of the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Hospital Quality Rating Transparency Act of 2016 . 2. One-year delay for release of Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings (a) In general The Secretary of Health and Human Services, with respect to any Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings for hospitals (such as ratings generated by the rating system described in the Fact Sheet issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through the QualityNet Internet website entitled Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings Fact Sheet, July 2016 Preview Period )— (1) shall make publicly available detailed information on the methodology used to calculate such Ratings; (2) shall have the validity and accuracy of such methodology confirmed by an independent statistician not otherwise engaged by the Secretary in star ratings measure development activities; (3) shall provide, with respect to the ratings system that is to use such methodology and data to calculate such Ratings, a public comment period that— (A) begins on a date that is after the date on which the Secretary, under paragraph (1), makes publicly available the detailed information described in such paragraph; and (B) is at least 60 days in duration; and (4) may not make such Ratings publicly available (such as by publishing on the Internet website commonly known as the Hospital Compare website) on a date that is before the latest of— (A) the date on which the independent statistician described in paragraph (2) provides the confirmation described in such paragraph; (B) the date on which the public comment period described in paragraph (3) concludes; and (C) July 31, 2017. (b) Application in case of publication before enactment In the case that the Secretary publishes such Ratings on the Internet website commonly known as the Hospital Compare website on a date that is before the date of the enactment of this act, the Secretary shall apply subsection (a) by— (1) removing such Ratings from such Internet website as soon as is practicable; and (2) in accordance with subsection (a)(4), not republishing after the date of the enactment of this Act any such Ratings on such Internet website or otherwise so making any such Ratings publicly available on a date that is before the latest of the dates described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such subsection.