5-Star

Understand the Five-Star Freeze

A substantial impact on both Quality Measures (QMs) and the Five-Star Quality Rating System was encountered with the transition from section G to section GG on October 1, 2023. A memo was released in September by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) detailing the affected QMs and the impact on the Five-Star QM domain.

However, due to the delay between when data is collected and when it is publicly reported, the Five-Star ratings will not be impacted until the April 2024 Care Compare refresh. Until this time, publicly reported QMs will be displayed based on data from before the transition to section GG. Effective with the April 2024 Care Compare refresh, QMs affected by the GG transition will be held constant (frozen) in the Five-Star QM rating.

There are four key points that nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) need to be aware of:

Although some measures are frozen, others will continue to thrive in April 2024.

1.  It’s not just a change in season in October 2024 for one measure.

2.  Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual v5.0.

3.  Two of the frozen measures will emerge like butterflies in January 2025.

4.  January 2025 will be looking at today.