What is a CCN number?
A CCN number is a six-character CMS Certification Number assigned to Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities — hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis facilities, and ambulatory surgical centers. It is the primary facility key across CMS files like Care Compare, the Provider of Services file, and HCRIS, and is distinct from an NPI.
- Source file
- Not reported
- Published
- Not reported
- Retrieved
- Not reported
- Snapshot
- Not retained for this reference page
- Data as of
- Not reported
Full name: CMS Certification Number
Short explanation
The CMS Certification Number (CCN) is a six-character identifier assigned by CMS to Medicare- and Medicaid-certified health care facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis facilities, and ambulatory surgical centers. The CCN is the primary facility identifier in CMS administrative data and the linking key between datasets such as Care Compare, the Provider of Services (POS) file, and HCRIS cost reports. The first two characters generally encode state; the remaining characters identify the facility within that state and can encode facility type.
Related data: HCRIS hospital cost-report dataset
How it’s used
- CMS Provider of Services (POS) File: the POS file uses CCN as the primary facility identifier, providing the backbone for cross-dataset joins.
- Healthcare Cost Report Information System (HCRIS): HCRIS cost reports are filed under the facility's CCN, enabling joins between financial data and Care Compare quality data.
- CMS Care Compare: all Care Compare facility records are keyed to CCN, making it the universal facility identifier across CMS quality programs.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a CCN number?
- A CCN (CMS Certification Number) is a six-character identifier CMS assigns to certified health care facilities for use in Medicare and Medicaid administrative data.
- How does a CCN differ from an NPI?
- An NPI identifies an individual or organization enumerated through NPPES and does not establish certification. A CCN identifies a CMS-certified facility for certification, survey, and payment data. A join exists only where a source publishes both.
- Where is the CCN used?
- CCN appears in HCRIS cost reports, the Provider of Services file, and many Care Compare facility datasets as a primary facility key.
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