Effective July 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised the nursing facility material within its Care Compare website. CMS’s explanation of the resources, along with information on new data provided outside of Care Compare, is available in its July 1 memo, entitled Nursing Home Data and Care Compare Updates, QSO-24-14-NH. 

In one welcome change, the Care Compare site now includes two consumer-focused guides. This change responds to a 2022 Justice in Aging issue brief, Improving Care Compare Website to Empower Consumers, which noted that Care Compare was focused almost exclusively on finding a facility, with little to no information on advocating for better care. 

Your Guide to Living in a Nursing Home, part of CMS’s new material, addresses many important topics, including admission agreements, care planning, transfer/discharge, and problem resolution. The guide is not a substitute for other advocacy guides, such as Justice in Aging’s 25 Common Nursing Home Problems – and How to Resolve Them, but will play an important role in flagging legal rights and advocacy possibilities for residents and their representatives.