CMS Announces Major Updates to Nursing Home Care Compare

CMS Announces Major Updates to Nursing Home Care Compare

CMS released QSO-25-20-NH on June 18, 2025, detailing several important updates that will impact how nursing home performance is displayed on Nursing Home Care Compare. These changes aim to provide a more accurate and consumer-friendly view of facility quality and operations. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s coming:

1. Chain-Level Performance Data Goes Public

Effective July 30, 2025, CMS will begin displaying average star ratings for nursing home chains directly on Care Compare. This includes overall ratings, health inspection scores, staffing levels, and quality measures.

Until now, this data was only available on CMS’s data webpage and primarily used by researchers. Making it more accessible to the public increases transparency and could influence consumer decision-making.

Third-Cycle Surveys Dropped from Ratings

CMS will no longer use the oldest of the three standard surveys to calculate a facility’s Health Inspection star rating.

• • Effective July 2025
  • Only the two most recent standard surveys will count
  • Complaint and infection control surveys will still be considered on a three-year lookback

This shift is in response to backlogs caused by pandemic-era access issues and reflects an effort to better represent current performance.

2. Long-Stay Antipsychotic Measure Gets a Makeover

In response to an OIG report questioning MDS accuracy, CMS will update the antipsychotic quality measure on October 29, 2025, by adding:

• • Medicare & Medicaid claims data
  • Medicare Advantage encounter data

This will help capture prescribing not reflected in the MDS 7-day lookback. The result? The national average is expected to rise from 14.64% to 16.98%.

3. COVID-19 Vaccination Data Removed

Also on July 30, COVID-19 vaccination info will be removed from the main profile page of each nursing home on Care Compare. While facilities still report this data, it will no longer be displayed front and center to consumers.

These updates mark a significant shift in how facilities are evaluated and presented to the public. Now is the time to review your most recent surveys, understand your chain’s aggregated data, and ensure your team is ready for these upcoming changes.

Download the full QSO-25-20-NH memo in the Proactive Solutions Center!