Changes to Complaint Data Displayed on Nursing Home Care Compare
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued guidance regarding changes to how complaint information is displayed on Nursing Home Care Compare. These updates stem from CMS’s transition to the cloud-based Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) and a policy shift affecting how complaint data is defined and reported.
As always, Simple continues to monitor regulatory updates like these to help skilled nursing facilities stay informed and prepared.
Key Change: Removal of the “Substantiated” Complaint Filter
Historically, Nursing Home Care Compare displayed only substantiated complaints. As CMS clarified in its latest memo, the term “substantiated” is no longer applicable under updated guidance.
As a result, this filter was removed during the iQIES transition.
Impact of This Change
With the removal of the substantiation filter, the total number of complaints and facility-reported incidents displayed on Nursing Home Care Compare increased significantly. This is because the system began including all allegations from the past three years, including:
- Duplicate allegations
- Unverified claims
- Self-reported events
- Allegations that do not necessarily indicate validated quality concerns or regulatory violations
CMS acknowledged that this expanded dataset may not accurately reflect true quality of care and may cause confusion for consumers.
CMS Action (Effective February 25, 2026)
To ensure clarity and accuracy for the public, CMS announced that beginning February 25, 2026, it will remove the following from Nursing Home Care Compare:
- The number of complaint allegations
- The number of facility-reported incidents
Importantly, CMS emphasized that it is removing allegation counts only. It is not removing the results of official investigations.
What Will Still Be Displayed
Despite these removals, the following information will continue to appear on Nursing Home Care Compare:
- Results of official complaint surveys
- Complaint citations issued after verified investigations
This ensures consumers can continue to view validated findings tied to regulatory oversight.
What This Means for Your Facility
During the recent CMS evaluation period, your facility may have seen an unexpected increase in publicly displayed complaint numbers due to the temporary inclusion of all allegations.
Beginning February 25, 2026, those allegation counts will be removed. This change should reduce potential confusion and help ensure public information more accurately reflects verified quality concerns.
No action is required from your organization at this time. However, facilities may wish to prepare communications or talking points for residents, families, or community stakeholders who may have questions about complaint data trends.
Simple will continue monitoring CMS updates as additional enhancements to complaint data presentation are introduced.