Learn More about Choosing a Nursing Home

Primary Listings

Long Term Care Providers Overview

NPALS – the National Post-acute and Long-term Care Study (formerly called National Study of Long-Term Care Providers) provides a data overview of nursing homes, residential facilities (such as assisted living) and more. If you’re interested only in residential facility characteristics, see the short, 8-page Data Brief No. 404, published Sept. 2021, from the Residential Care Community Survey.

Medicare Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home (pdf)

Medicare Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home contains checklists and ideas for how to find a nursing home that is right for you or your family member. Includes glossary of terms, Resident Rights information and more. Note, the publication states that Medicare Part A does NOT cover “Long term care or stays in a nursing home“. Federal Government Publication by CMS (CMS-02174), revised October 2019; 44 pages.

Nursing Home Quality – GAO Reports

GAO report on Nursing Home Quality and how to improve it. The two-page “Health Care Capsule” summarizes work on nursing home quality of care, COVID-19 response, consumer information concerns, and more. The pandemic highlighted long-standing infection control problems in long-term care. Social isolation also got worse during the pandemic. GAO recommends that the government provide consumers with more information on care quality. Examples include more data on nurse staffing and COVID-19 vaccination rates. They also recommend ways to make it easier for consumers to compare quality of care in nursing homes. This report by the Government Accounting Office (GAO 22-105422) was published January 14, 2022.

Other Helpful Listings

Health Fact Sheets – 100 topics

Short easy-to-read health fact sheets on more than 100 health topics, including standard public health topics. Sample: breast cancer, cervical cancer, Choosing a Nursing Home, chronic fatigue, domestic violence, fibromyalgia, gout, hepatitis, incontinence, lung cancer, measles, MRSA, prostate cancer, west nile virus. Prepared by Illinois Department of Public Health

Long-Term Care Data (AARP) 2020

AARP’s Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) State Scorecard for 2020 provides data on long-term care and state rankings. At the top of the rankings are Minnesota, Washington, and Wisconsin. The scorecard examines LTSS system performance in the areas of affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, quality of life and quality of care, support for family caregivers, and effective transitions. Includes average 2019 prices for home health and nursing home care (see p. 62). Median private room in a nursing home is reported at $102,200 (although it’s $362,628 per year in Alaska, and below $70,000 in Missouri and Oklahoma). The median cost of Home Care with 30 hours per week (at $23/hour) is $35,880 in the US. Average cost for assisted living is estimated at nearly $50,000. Individual state detail is provided for nursing homes and home care. Full reference edition is 104 pages. Published September 2020. The most current available data, collected for this Scorecard, generally cover the period 2016–2019. These data were collected and analyzed in 2019, and so the Scorecard paints a picture of comprehensive LTSS system performance before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic began. The new scorecard is expected in 2023.