Alliance Expresses Support for Concept Underlying New CMS 'Five-Star' Rating System for Nursing ...( Will Work with CMS to Fine-Tune T...),Health

Will Work with CMS to Fine-Tune Translation of Data into Valid, Accurate and Consumer-Friendly Information

WASHINGTON, June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In expressing support for a new five-star rating system for nursing facilities announced today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care noted its long-standing support for collecting and publicly disclosing valid and timely quality information and its desire to work closely with CMS to ensure that the new system is based on valid data. The result should be that the public has more timely and accurate information on which to select and evaluate nursing facilities and long term care stakeholders have confidence that the underlying data accurately reflects the quality of care provided in each facility.

"The Alliance has long believed that reliably measuring quality and publicly disclosing the results help consumers identify the facility that best meets their needs and expectations," stated Alan G. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance. "Disclosure of accurate information helps improve facility performance, increases overall accountability, and ultimately benefits consumer and provider alike. We believe CMS is committed to similar principles and strongly support the concept behind the new five-star rating system."

Rosenbloom noted that, "over the years, the Alliance has led collaborative efforts among providers and in partnership with CMS to improve quality in nursing facilities. "We helped to lead the Quality First effort among providers, worked closely with CMS to develop the comparative quality information already available on the Nursing Home Compare website, and are partnering with CMS, providers, consumers and other stakeholders as part of current Advancing Excellence campaign."

Rosenbloom added that while "translating" multiple sources of quality data into a consumer-friendly rating system is worthwhile, "we must have c
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