How to check a nursing home's inspection report on Medicare.gov Care Compare

Updated October 18, 2026 · General information, not professional advice

How to check a nursing home's inspection record on Care Compare

1. Go to Medicare.gov/care-compare.
2. Choose Nursing homes including rehab services and enter a ZIP code, city or facility name.
3. Click a facility's name, then View all or the inspections tab.
4. Open Health inspections to see the number and severity of problems found, complaint inspections and fire safety findings.
5. Use the option to view the full inspection report to read exactly what inspectors saw.
6. Compare up to three facilities side by side.

Care Compare covers nursing homes certified by Medicare or Medicaid. Assisted living is licensed by states, so check your state's licensing agency for those reports.

What the star ratings mean

Each nursing home gets an overall rating from 1 to 5 stars built from three parts:

• Health inspections: based on the number, scope and severity of problems found in the two most recent standard inspections, plus complaint and infection control inspections from the last three years.
• Staffing: nurse and aide hours per resident per day and staff turnover, from payroll data.
• Quality measures: 15 measures such as falls with injury, pressure ulcers, hospitalizations and antipsychotic use, split into short-stay (rehab) and long-stay results.

The overall rating starts with the inspection rating and moves up or down based on staffing and quality. Look at all three, not just the overall star count.

Red flags to look for

• Abuse icon: a red symbol for facilities cited for abuse that caused harm, or repeated abuse citations. Their inspection rating is capped at two stars.
• Special Focus Facility: a nursing home with a history of serious quality problems that gets extra inspections. It shows a warning sign instead of stars.
• Citations marked as causing actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
• Repeat problems with the same issue across inspections.
• High staff turnover or low weekend staffing.
• Recent fines or payment denials.

How to read an inspection report

Each deficiency lists the federal rule that was not met, how many residents it affected, and how serious it was. Read the inspectors' notes: they describe real events, like call lights not answered or medications given wrong. One minor paperwork citation means much less than a pattern of falls, infections or neglect. Look at the date, too; ask the facility what it changed since then.

Inspection reports also show whether the problem was isolated, a pattern, or widespread across the facility. Widespread problems that caused harm deserve the most weight in your decision.

Questions to ask a nursing home about its record

Bring what you found on Care Compare to your tour and ask directly:

• "Your last inspection cited problems with falls (or infection control, or medications). What did you change?"
• "How many residents does each nurse aide care for on day, evening and night shifts?"
• "What was your staff turnover last year, and do you use agency staff?"
• "Who is the medical director, and how often does a doctor or nurse practitioner see residents?"
• "For short-term rehab, how many days of therapy a week do residents get, and what percentage go home?"
• "How do you communicate with families about changes in condition?"

A good facility will answer openly and show you its plan of correction. Vague answers about serious citations are a warning sign.

Go beyond the website

• Visit more than once, including evenings or weekends. Watch how staff talk to residents and how quickly they respond.
• Ask to see the most recent inspection report; nursing homes must make it available.
• Call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman for your area. Ombudsmen advocate for residents in nursing homes and assisted living and know local facilities' complaint patterns.
• Ask the hospital discharge planner which facilities their patients do well in.

seniorcare.si can show licensed nursing homes near your ZIP code so you can start your comparison.