What CMS’s Care Compare data suppression means for hospital quality leaders.

CMS has suppressed the national compare values and confidence intervals for 18 mortality, readmission, and complication measures on Care Compare, and those comparisons will stay unavailable until the July 2027 public reporting release. CMS says individual hospital rates were not affected, but the context that tells patients, boards, and payers whether a hospital performs better or worse than the nation is gone for now.

For quality leaders, this is less a crisis than a planning problem. The public scoreboard has paused, but the work that shapes your next Star Rating has not.

What CMS announced

After releasing Hospital-Specific Reports and measure details in July 2026, CMS identified issues affecting certain publicly reported measure results. In response, CMS is suppressing national compare values and confidence intervals on both the July 2026 and October 2026 Public Reporting Preview Reports, and Care Compare will display “Not Available” for the affected measures.

The suppression covers four measure families:

• Mortality: 30-day mortality for AMI, heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, COPD, and CABG, plus Hybrid Hospital-Wide Mortality
• Readmissions: 30-day readmissions for AMI, heart failure, pneumonia, COPD, CABG, and hip and knee replacement, plus Hybrid Hospital-Wide Readmission
• Excess days in acute care: EDAC for AMI, heart failure, and pneumonia
• Complications: hip and knee replacement complications

CMS confirmed that individual hospital measure rates were not affected. The suppression is scheduled to continue until the release of the FY 2028 Hospital-Specific Reports and the July 2027 Public Reporting Preview Report.

What are national compare values and confidence intervals?

National compare values show how a hospital’s risk-adjusted rate stacks up against the national rate. CMS places a confidence interval around each hospital’s rate and uses it to label performance as better than, no different than, or worse than the nation.

That label is what most audiences actually read. A board member or patient rarely interprets a risk-standardized mortality rate on its own. They look at the comparison. With the comparison suppressed, a hospital’s raw rate appears without the benchmark that gives it meaning, as described in the CMS Public Reporting Preview Help Guide.

Why the suppression matters for Star Ratings and rankings

CMS has not yet published a timeline for the 2027 Star Ratings snapshot and release. Until it does, hospitals should expect some uncertainty about which data period will drive their next rating and how the suppressed comparisons will be handled.

The effect can extend beyond Star Ratings. External rankings and ratings programs draw on CMS mortality and readmission data, so a gap in the public comparison layer can shape how hospitals appear across the broader ratings landscape.

CMS has paused public data before

Data suppression is not new. CMS excluded COVID-affected data from several quality programs, and in 2022 a calculation error in an outpatient measure led CMS to delay the release of hospital Star Ratings from April to July.

In each case, CMS corrected the issue and restored reporting on a defined schedule. The lesson for quality leaders is that public data interruptions are a recurring operational risk. Organizations that maintain their own view of performance are better positioned when reporting resumes.

How hospitals can keep visibility while comparisons are unavailable

The public comparison has paused, but hospital performance has not. Quality teams can stay ahead by building their own line of sight into where their scores are heading.

Anchor to a validated baseline

Use the most recent validated Care Compare data as a fixed reference point. A known, stable snapshot is more reliable for planning.

Pair that baseline with current data

Combining a validated public baseline with your own current clinical and claims data shows how today’s work is likely to move future scores. That view does not depend on CMS’s public reporting calendar.

Keep documentation accurate and specific

Risk-adjusted measures depend on how completely patient acuity and comorbidities are documented. When CMS restores national comparisons, hospitals whose records reflect the true complexity of their patients will be represented fairly. Documentation work done now pays off regardless of when the next release arrives.

Prepare your board

Brief executives and board members before they notice “Not Available” on Care Compare. Framing the gap as a CMS data issue, rather than a change in hospital performance, prevents misreadings and keeps the focus on the work that drives the next rating.

The bottom line

CMS’s suppression of national compare values creates a temporary blind spot in public reporting, not a pause in accountability. The hospitals that come out ahead will be the ones that keep measuring, keep documenting accurately, and keep their leadership informed while the public scoreboard is dark.

Want to see where your quality scores are heading while Care Compare comparisons are unavailable? Meet with Shannon Wiggins and the Tendo Insights team to learn more about Tendo Insights.