About our data

Where it comes from

Every rating and measure on CareQualityScore comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that runs Medicare and publishes Medicare Care Compare. We refresh our information from this source. ZIP code locations for the “near me” search come from the U.S. Census Bureau.

We cover every Medicare-certified facility in these groups: nursing homes, hospitals, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis centers, inpatient rehab facilities, long-term care hospitals.

Star ratings

The star ratings you see are the government's own ratings, shown exactly as published. We don't make up our own stars or adjust theirs.

Averages and comparisons

State and national averages are simple averages across every facility of that type that reported the measure, so a 30-bed home counts the same as a 300-bed one. Where CMS itself says a result is better, no different, or worse than the national rate, we use its verdict. Otherwise we compare against the national average and call anything within 5% (or half a star) “average.”

Rankings

Each ranking page spells out the measure and any filters we used. Some rankings leave out very small facilities, because a handful of residents can swing their numbers a lot.

Distances

Nursing home locations are exact. Other facilities are placed at the center of their ZIP code, so distances are close but not precise. For home health agencies and hospices we also list the ZIP codes they say they serve.

What the data can't tell you

• Some measures are reported by the facilities themselves.
• Inspections and quality numbers describe the past. A home with a new administrator can look very different a year later.
• A blank usually means there weren't enough patients for the government to report a reliable number.

That's why we always suggest a visit and a phone call before deciding.