U.S. to begin rating nursing homes on quality

By the end of the year ranking of all nursing homes in the U.S. will be available on the Medicare Web site. Each home will be given a quality ranking of one to five stars (Source: "U.S. Preps Nursing-Home Rating System," Wall Street Journal (Free Access), June 19, 2008).

Medicare began listing the lowest-performing nursing homes and some quality information in its public database, but some have complained that the information is difficult to understand. Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services say their hope is that nursing homes that receive a low rating will use the result to improve quality.