CMS makes changes to nursing home star ratings

The CMS will update the star ratings on Nursing Home Compare in April with several changes including new ratings for health inspection performance and stricter criteria for staffing level ratings.

The changes to the ratings, which will likely go live in mid-April, are part of an ongoing effort by the CMS “to improve the accuracy and value of the information found on the site,” the agency said Tuesday in a release. The CMS has made modified the ratings several times over the years, including most recently replacing the collection of staffing data from a self-reported process to the Payroll-Based Journal system, which is said to be more accurate because it requires nursing homes to submit their payroll information every quarter.