Frequently asked questions
Where does this data come from?
From the CMS Provider Data Catalog, which publishes the same measures used on Medicare’s Care Compare. Hospitals report to CMS, and CMS publishes the results. Every figure here is shown with the period it covers.
Why does a hospital show “Not rated” instead of a star rating?
Because CMS did not publish an overall rating for it — most often because too few cases were reported to produce a reliable score. The rating scale runs from 1 to 5 and has no zero. “Not rated” is not a judgement about quality, and we never display it as zero stars.
Many measures are missing for smaller hospitals. Why?
CMS suppresses measures when the number of cases is too small for the result to be statistically reliable. A blank means “not reported”, which is different from a poor result. A hospital with a blank is not necessarily worse than one with a number.
What does “Compared to the National Average” mean?
It is CMS’s own label for whether a hospital’s result was better, no different, or worse than the national average for that measure. It is published by CMS, not derived by us.
Can I compare the scores of different measures?
No. Each measure has its own units — some are rates, some are ratios, and the spending measure is in Medicare dollars per patient. Comparing a mortality rate to a spending ratio would be meaningless, so each is shown separately with its own name and period.
Does this site show what a hospital charges?
No. CMS does not publish a national price comparison — hospitals publish their own machine-readable price files on their own websites, so there is no single government source. The spending figure here is what Medicare paid per patient, which is not what you would pay.
Is this medical advice?
No. These are historical, aggregate measures about institutions. They do not describe the care any individual will receive and cannot account for your condition. Talk to a clinician about your own care. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.