CMS Announces Updates to Nursing Home Care Compare and Five-Star Ratings

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 06/24/2025 08:52:16
• In: Quality/Regulatory

On June 18, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released memo QSO-25-20-NH outlining upcoming changes to the Nursing Home Care Compare website and the Five-Star Quality Rating System. These updates affect how performance data is displayed, how health inspection ratings are calculated, and how antipsychotic use and COVID-19 vaccination data are reported.

Chain-Level Performance Data to Be Posted
Beginning July 30, 2025, CMS will display performance metrics for nursing home chains, including average overall star ratings, health inspection results, staffing levels, and quality measure ratings. This information, currently available on the CMS Data website, will now be integrated into Nursing Home Care Compare in a more user-friendly format.
 
 
Health Inspection Rating Methodology Change
Also in July 2025, CMS will modify the inspection rating methodology by using only the two most recent standard surveys instead of three. This change reflects continued backlogs in survey scheduling. However, the three-year lookback for complaint and infection control surveys will remain unchanged.

Updated Antipsychotic Measure Incorporating Claims Data
Responding to concerns raised by the HHS Office of Inspector General report, CMS will revise the long-stay antipsychotic use measure to include Medicare and Medicaid claims and Medicare Advantage encounter data, supplementing the current MDS-based methodology. This update will go into effect October 29, 2025, and is expected to raise the national average of residents receiving antipsychotics from 14.64% to 16.98%. The scoring cut points will also be adjusted accordingly. Further details are available in the Five-Star Quality Rating System Technical Users' Guide.
 
Removal of COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting
Effective July 30, 2025, CMS will remove the COVID-19 vaccination section from each nursing home's profile page on Care Compare.  This does NOT change current NHSN reporting requirements. 

 
Related QSO CMS-2567, Process Update
In a related memo, QSO-25-19-ALL, CMS clarified that updates to the CMS-2567 release process do not change current requirements. Survey results must still be made publicly available within 14 days of being sent to the facilities, as required by regulation.
 
   
 
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org