What began as a spat between five Florida hospitals and a safety ratings group has grown into a First Amendment test with implications for any company involved in producing public ratings.
A federal judge found that The Leapfrog Group, an influential nonprofit known for its hospital quality and safety scores, violated Florida’s consumer protection law by unfairly penalizing hospitals that didn’t take its surveys. The judge ordered Leapfrog to withdraw its ratings on those hospitals and change its methodology for rating them, among other remedies.
Leapfrog plans to appeal. The group’s CEO, Leah Binder, said in an interview with STAT that the ruling is “outrageous” and shuts down free speech.
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