Terms

These terms apply to your use of rateanursinghome.com. If you use the site, you accept them. The site is an independent presentation of public data. It is not the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare, Medicaid, or a state survey agency, and it is not endorsed by them.

What the pages are

Facility, city, and state pages show fields from the CMS Provider Data Catalog nursing home files named in the footer, for the processing date printed there. Star ratings, citation counts, staffing hours, and penalty amounts are the values in those files. Guides describe the published method and cite the CMS documents they rely on. Nothing on the site is medical advice, legal advice, or a recommendation to choose or avoid a particular home.

Lists ordered by the overall star rating are sorted from the published rating so the file is easier to scan. CMS does not issue those lists as an official ranking. A higher star rating in the file is the result of the Five-Star method, which the star-rating guide summarizes. Confirm current conditions, costs, and bed availability with the facility and, where it matters, with the state survey agency.

Accuracy

CMS compiles the files from surveys, payroll submissions, and claims. Homes can dispute citations. Quarters of staffing data roll forward on CMS's calendar. A page can therefore be an accurate copy of a file that is already out of date relative to a visit tomorrow. We do not promise that a figure is complete, current beyond the dates on the page, or free of errors that began in the source file. If you believe a page mis-copies the CMS field, write to hello@rateanursinghome.com and include the page address and the CMS certification number.

Use of the site

You may read the pages, search the file, and share links. You may not use the site in a way that interferes with it for other people, attempt to break access controls, or present the site as an official CMS product. Facility names, addresses, and ratings are facts from a public file. The arrangement of the pages, the guide text, and the site name are ours. Photographs are credited in the footer and remain under the licenses named there.

Advertising

Pages may include ads. Ad cookies and the choices you have about them are described on the privacy page.

Liability

The site is provided as a reading copy of public records and explanatory articles. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for decisions made from a star rating, a citation list, a staffing figure, or a penalty amount, or for a CMS file that later changes. Some states do not allow certain limitations, and those laws still apply.

Changes

We may update these terms by posting a new version on this page. Continued use of the site after that posting is acceptance of the updated terms. Questions about the terms can go to hello@rateanursinghome.com.