CMS Temporarily Pauses Nursing Home Care Compare Updates

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 08/19/2025 08:38:56
• In: Quality/Regulatory

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in this Quality & Safety Special Alert Memo that it will temporarily pause monthly updates to the Nursing Home Care Compare website, including Five-Star Quality Ratings, effective July 30, 2025. This pause follows CMS's successful transition from the legacy Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) to the new cloud-based Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). The modernization marks a significant step in strengthening data quality, reliability, and efficiency. Updates to Care Compare are expected to resume in October 2025 once CMS has completed validation to ensure accuracy and integrity of the information.

During the pause, star ratings and related data on Nursing Home Care Compare will remain static, even though survey activity continues. Nursing homes are still required to maintain transparency by posting CMS-2567 Statements of Deficiencies in publicly accessible areas, ensuring that residents, families, and visitors can make informed decisions. In addition, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) continues to provide public access to CMS inspection documents and related compliance materials. This pause reflects CMS's effort to balance system modernization with the need to provide accurate, trustworthy information to the public.
 
Staff contact: mcarland@mehca.org