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CMS Care Compare: Definition and Healthcare Context
Full name: CMS Care Compare Quality Reporting Platform
CMS Care Compare is a publicly accessible data resource that provides quality and performance information for Medicare-participating health care providers and facilities — including hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and clinicians. CMS launched Care Compare in 2020, consolidating previously separate comparison tools (Hospital Compare, Nursing Home Compare, Home Health Compare, and others) into a unified platform. Data includes star ratings, inspection results, staffing levels, and quality measures.
- Source file
- Not reported
- Published
- Not reported
- Retrieved
- Not reported
- Snapshot
- Not retained for this reference page
- Re-check
- CMS Care Compare — official
- Data as of
- Not reported
Last updated: 2026-07-11Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MD — Gullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.
How it’s used
- CMS Care Compare — Home Health Care Agencies: home health quality data including patient outcome measures and star ratings are published through Care Compare.
- CMS Care Compare — Hospice: hospice quality measures and patient survey results are published through Care Compare.
- CMS Care Compare — Dialysis Facility: 5-star dialysis quality ratings and chain-ownership data come from Care Compare.
- CMS Care Compare — ASC Quality Measures: ambulatory surgical center quality measures are published through Care Compare.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CMS Care Compare?
- CMS Care Compare is a federal website and dataset that publishes quality ratings, inspection results, and staffing data for Medicare-participating providers and facilities.
- What facility types are on Care Compare?
- Care Compare covers hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, and individual clinicians.
- How often is Care Compare data updated?
- Update frequency varies by facility type — nursing home star ratings update quarterly, hospital measures are updated periodically, and inspection results are posted within 60 days of survey completion.