February 27, 2013

New U.S. News ratings show nursing homes a 'Maine' attraction

U.S. News & World Report released its fifth annual list of best nursing homes on Tuesday. Its five-star rating system is based on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data related to care quality, health inspection findings and staffing levels.

More than 15,000 nursing homes are included in the ratings, which are broken down by state, region and metro areas. U.S. News identified 3,036 homes that earned an overall five-star rating, based on CMS data from January 2013. This is up from 2,486 a year ago. U.S. News updates its ratings quarterly to reflect changing CMS information.

Looking at the five states the 2010 U.S. Census identified as having the most seniors as a percentage of population, Maine scored best on the U.S. News ratings. Thirty percent of its homes earned a five-star rating. Florida, No. 1 for seniors as a percentage of population, saw one-fifth of its homes earn the highest rating. The No. 2 state in seniors as percentage of the population, West Virginia, had only 10% earn the top rating. Pennsylvania and Iowa, Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, both saw 23% of their nursing homes earn five stars.

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