Nursing Home Advocates Want Medicare to Keep Its Ratings for Top Facilities
October 9, 2009 - Proceedings & Testimonies
The federal government has a five-star rating system, indicating which nursing homes have the fewest serious health and safety violations when state inspectors check them. Many state attorneys general said the system should be suspended unless there are uniform national standards, which would provide more consistency than the current system of separate inspection reports by each state. However, a leading organization advocating on behalf of caregivers and nursing home residents wants to keep the current ratings. In a September 14, 2009 letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care (NCCHNR) said, “We urge you to keep the system in place as consumers work with CMS to make it a better tool among those that families use to evaluate nursing home quality.”