CMS Updates Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Ratings

August 19, 2016
Policy Snapshot

On August 10, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the popular Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Quality Ratings to incorporate new measures. These new measures look at successful discharges, emergency visits, and re-hospitalizations. Nursing homes receive four different star ratings on the Nursing Home Compare website (each ranging from 1 to 5 stars): one for each of the components – health inspections, staffing, and quality measures – and one for an overall rating, which is calculated by combining each of the three component star ratings. With the new quality measures added to the calculations, the quality measures star rating for each nursing home, as well as the overall rating, will likely change.

For more information, see the fact sheet.