Guides

Updated October 14, 2026

Short, plain guides to the questions families ask most when a parent needs more help, with links to Medicare's data for every nursing home and home health agency.

• How to read a nursing home's Medicare star ratingsMedicare rates every nursing home it certifies from 1 to 5 stars. Here's what goes into each rating, how the overall rating is built, and how to use the ratings without being misled.
• What a nursing home inspection citation meansInspectors cite nursing homes for problems all the time. Here's how to tell a minor citation from a serious one, and what happens after a home is cited.
• Home health vs. home care: what Medicare pays forHome health and home care sound alike but aren't. One is skilled medical care Medicare can pay for; the other is everyday help families usually pay for themselves.
• Questions to ask on a nursing home tourA tour shows you what star ratings can't. Bring these questions, go more than once, and compare what you see with the home's inspection record.
• Assisted living vs. a nursing home: which fitsAssisted living helps with daily life; a nursing home provides round-the-clock nursing care. Here's how to tell which your parent needs, and how each is paid for.
• Medical alerts with fall detection: what they can and can't doFall detection can call for help when your parent can't press the button. It doesn't catch every fall, so here's how to judge whether it's worth adding.