Massachusetts Nursing Home
Intelligence Report

Every grade on MassNursingHomeReport.com is calculated directly from the CMS Provider Data Catalog — the same federal dataset used by Medicare.gov, U.S. News & World Report, and state health departments nationwide. We do not generate, estimate, or supplement any data point. Every number traces directly to a CMS source record.

Each facility receives a composite score (0–100) based on seven CMS-reported metrics, weighted by clinical significance. Grades are assigned by Massachusetts percentile rank — every grade reflects how a facility compares to all 341 licensed nursing homes in the state, not to a national average or an arbitrary cutoff.

Our methodology mirrors the weighting priorities in CMS's own Five-Star system and is grounded in published clinical research on nursing home quality. Three principles make every grade defensible:

• Every input is CMS-reported — no data is generated, estimated, or adjusted by MassCareGuide
• Every weight reflects published clinical evidence — RN staffing and inspection results are weighted highest because research consistently identifies them as the strongest predictors of resident outcomes
• Every grade is a relative rank — a D grade means the facility is in the bottom 40% of Massachusetts nursing homes by federal metrics; it is a factual statement, not an editorial judgment

Any licensed Massachusetts nursing home may submit a written grade appeal to info@willmasshealthpay.com. Appeals are reviewed within 10 business days.

MassNursingHomeReport.com publishes a new data release within 30 days of each CMS quarterly update (January, April, July, October). Each release includes a full recalculation of grades across all 341 Massachusetts facilities and a quality review before publication. The current data quarter is displayed on every page.

Yes — completely. The full calculation for every facility is published on this site. For each of the seven metrics, you can see:

• The raw CMS value — the exact number reported by the facility to CMS (e.g. 0.60 RN hours per resident day)
• The Massachusetts percentile rank — how that value compares to all 341 licensed MA nursing homes (e.g. 50th percentile = 50/100)
• The weight applied — the clinical importance assigned to that metric (e.g. 20% for RN staffing)
• The weighted contribution — the exact points that metric adds to the composite score (e.g. 50 × 0.20 = 10.0 points)
• The composite total — the sum of all seven weighted contributions

The grade methodology is fully transparent and published — but grades are not changeable simply because a facility disagrees with them. There are exactly three grounds for a grade correction:

• Mathematical error — if we made an error in the composite calculation, we correct it within 10 business days
• Wrong CMS record — if we used the wrong facility's data, we correct it immediately
• Prior quarter data applied in error — if we used an outdated dataset, we correct it

The weighting formula, percentile ranking approach, and grade thresholds are all published in our full technical specification (Version 1.0, Q3 2026) and reviewed annually by the PAIGE Standards Committee. A facility may disagree with our weighting choices — that is a legitimate academic debate — but changing the methodology would affect every facility equally, not just one. Our methodology mirrors the priorities embedded in CMS's own Five-Star Quality Rating System and is grounded in published clinical research.

This is the same position taken by Medicare.gov, U.S. News & World Report, and ProPublica's Nursing Home Inspect — all of which publish nursing home quality grades based on CMS data without allowing individual facilities to override the methodology.

Any licensed Massachusetts nursing home may submit a written grade appeal to info@willmasshealthpay.com. Appeals are reviewed within 10 business days. Please include your facility name, CMS Certification Number (CCN), and a description of the specific calculation you believe is in error.