Prepare for the Jan. 29, 2025 Nursing Home Care Compare Five-Star Ratings Refresh

(Jan. 10, 2025) Public reporting for four Five-Star quality measures has been frozen at the January 2024 performance rates, and those measures will be replaced with the new measures listed below. The new measures will be used to calculate a Quality Measures star rating at the January 2025 Care Compare refresh. Communities were able to get their performance rates on these new measures in the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) since Quarter 2, 2024. The early data provided communities with a glimpse of their performance. However, even with early data, it was impossible to predict how that would affect their star ratings. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated Quality Measures Users’ Manual and Five-Star Technical Users’ Guide for January 2025 that includes changes to the measures, the scoring cut points for the measures, and the Quality Measures star rating ranges.

New Five-Star Measures:

SS Discharge Function Score
LS Percent of Residents Whose Need for Help with ADLs Has Increased
LS Percent of Residents Whose Ability to Walk Independently Worsened
LS Percent of Residents with Pressure Ulcers

New Quality Measures Users’ Manual version 17.0 effective Jan. 1, 2025

New Five-Star Technical Users’ Guide for January 2025

Action Items:

Be aware of the changes in the quality measures, and educate stakeholders and consumers in advance of the January 2025 refresh.
Be aware that there will be confusion. Communicate that comparisons of performance rates between the old measures and the new measures are impossible given the differences in what is being measured, even though the names of the measures are the same or only minimally changed.
Review your Five-Star Analysis Report. A link to the Five-Star Analysis Report will be sent to LeadingAge NY members following the January 2025 Care Compare refresh.
Contact Susan Chenail at schenail@leadingageny.org if you have questions regarding your ratings or would like to schedule a free Five-Star consult.
Be prepared to share information regarding the impact on your star ratings and reassure customers of your dedication to quality.

Contact: Susan Chenail, schenail@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8383 ext. 116