[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5927 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5927

To delay for one year the release of the Overall Hospital Quality Star 
                    Ratings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hospital Quality Rating Transparency 
Act of 2016''.

SEC. 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.
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