{
  "schema_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "answer_key": "nursing-home-ratings",
  "artifact_slug": "nursing-home-ratings",
  "query": "nursing home quality measures",
  "citation_slots": 2,
  "canonical_path": "/learn/nursing-home-ratings",
  "title": "Nursing Home Quality Measures — CMS Source Datasets",
  "description": "What CMS nursing home quality measures are, the MDS assessments behind them, and the dated Provider Data Catalog datasets that publish the scores.",
  "answer_capsule": "Nursing home quality measures are CMS-published performance scores for Medicare-certified facilities, built from Minimum Data Set resident assessments, with claims data added for some measures. The CMS Provider Data Catalog nursing-home topic, released 2026-06-24, publishes 18 datasets, including MDS quality measures with 4-quarter score averages used in the Five-Star Rating System.",
  "scope": "This page covers what CMS nursing home quality measures are, where the official datasets live, and what feeds them. It reports facility-level statistics as published by CMS; it does not rank facilities, recommend care, or restate any facility's individual scores.",
  "methodology_version": "citation-answer/v1",
  "reproducibility_note": "Re-derive this answer from the cited government file; no Fonteum account is required.",
  "limitations": [
    "Dataset counts and dates are those observed on the CMS catalog on the access date; CMS updates the catalog on its own schedule.",
    "Facility-level statistics are not care recommendations, rankings, or predictions about any resident's experience.",
    "Measure specifications change; CMS's announcements on the catalog page are the authoritative change record."
  ],
  "related_links": [
    {
      "label": "Nursing home records hub",
      "href": "/care-compare/nursing-homes"
    },
    {
      "label": "Skilled nursing facility explained",
      "href": "/learn/skilled-nursing-facility"
    },
    {
      "label": "Nursing home deficiency lookup",
      "href": "/tools/nursing-home-deficiencies"
    }
  ],
  "data_as_of": "2026-06-24",
  "source_artifacts": [
    {
      "source_key": "cms-nursing-home-topic",
      "kind": "upstream",
      "file_name": "Provider Data Catalog — Nursing homes including rehab services",
      "file_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes",
      "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
      "published_date": "2026-06-24",
      "retrieved_date": null,
      "data_as_of": "2026-06-24",
      "sha256": null
    }
  ],
  "published_date": "2026-07-22",
  "modified_date": "2026-07-22",
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_key": "cms-nursing-home-topic",
      "name": "Provider Data Catalog — Nursing homes including rehab services",
      "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
      "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes",
      "source_date_kind": "release",
      "source_date": "2026-06-24",
      "limitation": "The catalog release observed on 2026-07-22 lists datasets last modified 2026-06-01. Quality-measure scores are facility-level statistics, not care recommendations for any resident."
    }
  ],
  "facts": [
    {
      "fact_key": "dataset-inventory",
      "label": "Official dataset inventory",
      "value": "The CMS Provider Data Catalog nursing-home topic lists 18 datasets, including Provider Information (quality measure scores, staffing, and other Five-Star Rating System inputs), MDS Quality Measures, Penalties, and Ownership, released 2026-06-24 with data last modified 2026-06-01.",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "cms-nursing-home-topic",
        "name": "Provider Data Catalog — Nursing homes including rehab services",
        "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
        "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes",
        "source_date_kind": "release",
        "source_date": "2026-06-24",
        "limitation": "The catalog release observed on 2026-07-22 lists datasets last modified 2026-06-01. Quality-measure scores are facility-level statistics, not care recommendations for any resident."
      }
    },
    {
      "fact_key": "mds-basis",
      "label": "What feeds the measures",
      "value": "MDS quality measures are based on the resident assessments that make up the nursing home Minimum Data Set, reported with 4-quarter score averages; CMS's October 2025 revision added Medicare, Medicaid, and Part D claims and encounter data to the long-stay antipsychotic-medication measure.",
      "source": {
        "source_key": "cms-nursing-home-topic",
        "name": "Provider Data Catalog — Nursing homes including rehab services",
        "publisher": "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)",
        "official_url": "https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes",
        "source_date_kind": "release",
        "source_date": "2026-06-24",
        "limitation": "The catalog release observed on 2026-07-22 lists datasets last modified 2026-06-01. Quality-measure scores are facility-level statistics, not care recommendations for any resident."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "What kinds of measures does CMS publish for nursing homes?",
      "answer": "CMS publishes short-stay and long-stay quality measures built from Minimum Data Set resident assessments, alongside staffing data, health-inspection results, penalties, and ownership records — the inputs the Five-Star Rating System draws on. The official copies live in the CMS Provider Data Catalog."
    },
    {
      "question": "How current are the published scores?",
      "answer": "Each dataset carries its own Last Modified, Released, and Planned Update dates on the CMS catalog. At the 2026-06-24 release observed on 2026-07-22, data were last modified 2026-06-01 with the next update planned for 2026-07-29."
    },
    {
      "question": "Can quality measures alone identify the best nursing home?",
      "answer": "No. The measures are facility-level statistics with defined lookback windows and case-mix adjustments. CMS presents them alongside staffing and inspection records rather than as a single verdict, and this page does not rank facilities or recommend care."
    }
  ]
}