HHVBP (Home Health Value-Based Purchasing) and star ratings affect both payment and referrals. Referral sources look at your star rating; payers tie money to performance. Knowing what’s measured and how to improve is worth your time,and experienced managers don’t try to fix everything at once; they pick one or two measures and run a focused improvement cycle.
What’s measured
HHVBP and outcome measures,hospitalization, improvement in function, process measures (e.g. timely care), and patient experience (CAHPS),drive payment. HHVBP adjusts payment up or down based on how you perform compared to others. Star rating is a 1–5 summary that’s public; hospitals and SNFs often use it when choosing partners. The exact measure set and weights change periodically,check CMS and your MAC for the current year so you’re not optimizing for last year’s rules.
Where to improve
Pull your latest report and see which measures are below average. Often a few measures drag the rest down. Focus on those: better documentation, care coordination, and follow-up can move the needle. For example, if “timely initiation of care” is low, the fix is operational (faster SOC scheduling and intake). If hospitalization rate is high, look at care practices, medication reconciliation, and early physician contact. Assign an owner and a 90-day target; review monthly.
Using the report in partner conversations
When you’re building or defending hospital and SNF relationships, know your numbers. If your star rating improved, say so,and say what you changed. If you’re still building, be honest and share your plan. Referral sources would rather partner with an agency that tracks and improves than one that doesn’t know their scores. A worksheet that walks you through the report and builds a one-page improvement plan is useful for internal use and for those conversations.
We have a star rating worksheet you can download: how to read your report, which measures to prioritize, and a simple plan to target one or two measures at a time. Use the button below to get it.