Dozens of Maryland nursing homes will see a change in their scores on Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare after the federal government altered its methodology for ranking elder care facilities. With these changes, the number of Maryland’s 228 nursing homes with a five-star ranking plunged 27% from 81 to 59. The number of nursing homes with a one-star ranking surged 125% from 12 to 27.
Nursing Home Compare is a service offered on Medicare’s website. It ranks nursing homes on a scale of one (lowest) to five (highest), helping family members decide who to entrust with the care of a loved one. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) bases these rankings on scores in three categories: on-site inspections, quality of health of a facility’s residents (quality measures), and staffing levels.
The revamped calculations now factor in a nursing home’s use of antipsychotic drugs in determining its quality measures score. The inclusion of this variable came after advocates raised concerns with regulators over the possibility nursing homes were over-prescribing antipsychotic drugs to control residents. Additionally, CMS altered its ranking system to require higher scores on staffing to achieve an overall ranking of four-stars or more.
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Before Changes |
After Changes |
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| Five Star | 81 | Five Star | 59 |
| Four Star | 54 | Four Star | 51 |
| Three Star | 37 | Three Star | 45 |
| Two Star | 43 | Two Star | 45 |
| One Star | 12 | One Star | 27 |
The Cochran Firm, D.C. has a team of experienced and dedicated attorneys willing to go the distance to secure compensation for victims of elder care abuse and neglect. In 2013, attorney Charles Meltmar won a $1.45 million trial victory after jurors found the caregivers of a severely burned resident were negligent and liable for the victim’s injuries.
