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The latest Safety Grades shows the first improvement since fall 2023, but the measures are still far from pre-pandemic levels.
The overall trend over the past decade has been for patient safety to improve, with progress made on falls and MRSA infections.
Leapfrog said the information CMS is seeking to curtail is critical for patients seeking the best performing hospitals.
The pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have hampered progress on the patient safety front, though most hospitals received passing grades.
Cigna received the highest marks for its efforts toward driving for value, while UnitedHealthcare ranked lowest.
D and F graded hospitals carry nearly twice the risk of mortality of A-graded hospitals, with over 50,000 lives at stake, according to Leapfrog analysis.
Among the gaps for both types of facilities are a lack of best practices for patient care and inadequate monitoring of board certifications.
Rural hospitals are particularly challenged in meeting the standards, with non meeting the volume standard for five of eight procedures.
Some industry experts are guardedly optimistic about the order's intended effects, but opinions are mixed, and concerns vary.
An estimated 160,000 lives are lost annually from avoidable medical errors, an improvement over 2016, which saw 205,000 avoidable deaths.
