The Center for Public Integrity recently released a report investigating the information provided through the Nursing Home Compare website. As a result of their investigation they have found a clear problem with the current selfeporting system. Currently 80% of nursing homes in the US have reported nurse staffing levels that are higher than those calculated through their cost reports. The information that nursing homes provide through selfeporting is done within a two-week period before their annual inspections when many of the homes are on their best behavior. This leads many critics to claim that the levels could be unnaturally high.

While nursing homes may submit more accurate data to the Medicaid program these reports are much more difficult for the public to access. These reports contain data that is drastically different from those given to the Nursing Home Compare website. This difference in reporting could easily lead family members into thinking they have chosen a safe place for their loved one, only to discover an issue with understaffing after an avoidable accident or complication.

To read more about the reporting discrepancies and find out what is being done to correct them click here.