What Medicare star ratings mean
How Medicare rates hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospice and dialysis centers with 1 to 5 stars, what “not rated” means, and how to use the stars.
Who this guide is for
For anyone comparing providers on our pages or on Medicare Care Compare. Medicare (CMS) publishes star ratings for several kinds of care; each kind is rated in its own way, so stars cannot be compared across kinds of care.
What the official data on our pages means
- Hospitals
- An overall rating (1 to 5 stars) from measures in five groups: deaths, safety of care, readmissions, patient experience, and timely and effective care; and patient survey stars (HCAHPS).
- Nursing homes
- An overall rating built from three ratings: health inspections (compared within the state), staffing, and quality of resident care.
- Home health agencies
- Two ratings: quality of patient care, and the patient survey rating (Home Health CAHPS).
- Hospice
- A family caregiver survey rating (CAHPS Hospice Survey), shown with quality measures such as the Hospice Care Index.
- Dialysis centers
- A rating that compares patient results such as survival, hospital admissions, transfusions and infections with what is expected for each center’s patients.
- Not rated
- A provider can be “not rated” when it is new, treated too few patients, had too few survey answers, or did not report enough data. It does not mean good or bad.
Questions to ask when you call or visit
- Which of the ratings matters most for the care I need (for example, staffing for a long nursing home stay, or results for my surgery)?
- How old are the data? Every page shows the data date; ask the provider what has changed since then.
- Ask the provider about any low rating: what caused it and what they have done about it.
Warning signs
- Advertising that quotes a star rating without the date or without saying which rating it is.
- A high overall rating with a low rating in the part that matters to you (for example a nursing home with high overall stars but low staffing).
Costs and who pays
Star ratings do not change what Medicare, Medicaid or your insurance pay. What you pay depends on your coverage and on whether the provider takes it.
Medicare also gives star ratings to Medicare Advantage and drug plans. Those rate the plans, not hospitals or care facilities, and are shown in the Medicare plan finder.
In general terms only. Deductibles, coinsurance and other amounts change every year, and Medicaid rules differ by state: check Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE or your state Medicaid agency, and ask your plan.
How to complain or get help
- If you think a provider’s data on Medicare is wrong, tell the provider: providers review their own data before Medicare publishes it. If our page shows it differently from Medicare, tell us.
- Complaints about the care itself go to the state survey agency (and, for nursing homes and assisted living, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman). Each guide explains where to complain for that kind of care.
- Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048, free, with help in Spanish and other languages.
Find care on US Patient Guide
Common questions
Is a 5-star provider always better than a 3-star one?
Not always for you. Stars are averages over many patients and summarize several measures, and the data are months or more old. Look at the parts that matter for your care, visit or call, and talk with your doctor.
How often are star ratings updated?
Medicare refreshes its Care Compare data several times a year, and each rating uses data from a past period. Every page on our site shows the date of the Medicare data it uses.
Why does a provider have no stars?
Usually because it is new, small, or had too few cases or survey answers for a reliable rating. “Not rated” is neither good nor bad.
Sources
- Medicare Care Compare (Medicare.gov)
- Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (CMS QualityNet)
- HCAHPS hospital patient survey (CMS)
- Five-Star Quality Rating System for nursing homes (CMS)
- Home Health CAHPS patient survey (CMS)
- CAHPS Hospice Survey of family caregivers (CMS)
- In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS patient survey (CMS)
- Medicare.gov in Spanish
Written in plain language by US Patient Guide from the official sources above, November 2, 2026. The facts on each provider page come from the official data shown on that page, with its date. Not medical advice.