Data and methods
Every number on HospiceCompare comes from public data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). We do not change CMS’s values, and we do not rank hospices.
Datasets
| Dataset | What we use | Release we show |
|---|---|---|
| CMS Hospice Enrollments | Legal name, address, phone, CMS Certification Number (CCN) | Loaded October 20, 2026 |
| CMS Care Compare hospice data | Facility name, ownership and certification date; CAHPS Hospice Survey star rating and scores; Hospice Care Index; state and national averages; the ZIP codes each hospice serves | Released August 2026 |
| CMS Post-Acute Care and Hospice utilization, by provider | Medicare patients per year | Calendar years 2014 to 2024 |
How we match and compute
- Hospices are matched across datasets by their CMS Certification Number (CCN), which stays the same when a hospice changes name. Each hospice page address ends in its CCN.
- We show a hospice as current when it is in the latest enrollment file we loaded. A hospice that dropped out keeps its page with a notice, and leaves lists, search and the sitemap.
- Every hospice page uses one Care Compare release (August 2026) and the latest utilization year, so all numbers on a page belong together.
- A hospice’s name is the facility name Care Compare shows. When the legal name of the organization in the enrollment file is different, the page says “Operated by” that name. Ownership is Care Compare’s, or the enrollment file’s when Care Compare has none.
- State and national averages are the ones CMS publishes with each Care Compare release. CMS publishes no average star rating, so that one is computed by HospiceCompare (the plain average of the hospices that have a rating) and marked with an asterisk.
- A search for a ZIP code lists the hospices that report serving that ZIP code to CMS. A search for a city or address finds hospice offices within 25 miles, widening to 50 and then 100 miles when there are few. Places are matched to ZIP code and city centers; we do not use a commercial geocoder.
- County pages group hospices by the county of their office address. A county page with fewer than 2 hospices is shown to visitors but kept out of search engines.
Limits of the data
- A hospice’s office is not its service area. Most care happens in people’s homes, often across several counties. Service areas are what each hospice reports to CMS; always ask whether a hospice serves the home address.
- When too few families answered the survey, CMS publishes no star rating. We show “Not reported by CMS”, never a zero.
- CMS does not publish patient counts below 11, so small hospices can show no count for a year.
- Survey results look back over a past reporting period, and utilization data runs about two years behind.
- We do not show where care was given (home, nursing facility, assisted living, inpatient) yet, nor CMS’s Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life and comprehensive assessment measures. Both are on Medicare’s Care Compare.
Download
Per-state summary (CSV): active hospices, hospices with a star rating, and average star rating (ours), “would definitely recommend” share and Hospice Care Index (CMS’s) per state. Empty cells mean no hospice in that state reports the measure.
Corrections
See how to report a correction. HospiceCompare is not affiliated with Medicare or CMS.