Finding the best nursing home care available in your area can be
difficult at best. To ease the challenge, the Centers for Medicaid
& Medicare Services (CMS) recently launched an innovative five-
star ranking system of America’s nursing homes on its Nursing Home
Compare Website. The primary purpose of this tool is to provide those
who place patients into nursing homes detailed information about the
performance of every Medicaid and Medicare certified nursing home in
the country.

While the CMS Web site provides extensive data on nursing homes,
the ranking system will help beneficiaries, their families and
caregivers compare nursing homes more easily. Nursing homes will be
ranked using a five-tier system, with five stars representing “above
average” and one star representing “below average” in terms of the
quality of care offered. The goal is to provide the public with easy
access to information that can help them make informed decisions about
nursing homes. The ranking system will also be used as an incentive for
nursing homes to strive towards earning the highest rating by providing
an environment of better quality care.

Through its consumer information Web sites, CMS is beginning to
offer more and better information on the quality, patient satisfaction,
and cost of care. The new ratings will be created using the information
already posted on the site, such as the results of nursing home
inspections, and will incorporate additional information as well, such
as scores on quality measures, staffing information and a three-year
history of the home's health, safety and fire inspection reports.

The star ranking system is the most recent move by CMS designed to
protect the more than 3 million people who rely on nursing home
services each year nationwide. CMS plans to update the information on
the Web site quarterly.

The ratings will be posted on the agency’s Nursing Home Compare Web
site by the end of this year. A sample screen shot of the proposed star
ratings is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/PressContacts/10_PR_fivestar.asp.

During June and July 2008, the agency is soliciting ideas, comments
and suggestions from the public, consumer groups, nursing homes and
many others. Comments may be sent to BetterCare@cms.hhs.gov.