CMS Freezes Five-Star Ratings, Adds More Info to Nursing Home Compare Site

CMS has announced that they plan to make major changes to the Nursing Home Compare website over the next few months. Perhaps most notably, the agency will be freezing five-star ratings for six months while they gather quality measure data from the new MDS 3.0. The freeze will go into effect on April 23.

Other changes planned for site include:

• Adjustments to allow consumers to more easily file complaints against nursing homes with state survey agencies (links to state complaint websites will be added and state fax and phone numbers will become more prominent)
• A more visible "consumer rights" section
• The addition of a standardized complaint form for consumers who want to file a complaint by fax

Beginning in July, CMS will display data on the following:

• The number of substantiated complaints received
• The number of enforceable actions that have been imposed (such as civil monetary payments or denials of payment for new admission)

To learn more, click here.