I apologize for missing this announcement – it is a big deal, going forward!

On September 3, 2020, CMS announced the launch of Care Compare which is described as “a streamlined redesign of eight existing CMS healthcare compare tools available.  Care Compare provides a single user-friendly interface that patients and caregivers can use to make informed decisions about healthcare based on cost, quality of care, volume of services, and other data. With just one click, patients can find information that is easy to understand about doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care services instead of searching through multiple tools.

Currently, someone who is planning to have bypass surgery would need to visit Hospital Compare, Nursing Home Compare, and Home Health Compare individually to research providers for the different phases of their surgery and rehabilitation. Now, those patients can start their search at Care Compare to find and compare providers that meet their healthcare needs that includes information about quality measures presented similarly and clearly across all provider types and care settings.

Patients will also find helpful hints and guides throughout Care Compare. For example, when searching for a nursing home, patients have the ability to utilize a checklist with common questions and considerations when selecting a nursing home. While the measures and data used for Care Compare have not changed, the way information is displayed is now different. During a transition period, consumers and other stakeholders will be able to use the original eight compare tools while CMS continues to gather feedback and considers additional improvements to the tool. As new information about quality and cost are added to the compare tools, Care Compare will be updated to reflect that information.”

Here’s what the new multi-provider compare site looks like:

Selecting the Nursing Homes icon, you’ll see this:

Also, check out the Info for health care providers beneath Tips & Resources at the bottom of the landing page (I opened the Nursing homes provider to show):

I encourage you to check out this redesigned and one-stop-shopping tool.  Bookmark it for future reference.