California has the most top-rated home health programs, according to U.S. News and World Report’s inaugural ranking. Three states and Washington, D.C., do not have any.
U.S. News evaluated more than 12,000 Medicare-certified home health agencies across the country using CMS data. Home health programs were rated based on quality and patient experience measures, including timely initiation of care and outcomes, and preventable hospitalizations. To be eligible for rating, home health agencies had to have a CMS certification number, and reported quality of patient care star rating, patient survey rating or both. U.S. News used an independent methodology, resulting in some of its ratings differing from the CMS rating program. Read more about the methodology here.
Just over 11%, or 1,320, of home health agencies earned the Best Home Health distinction for exceeding expectations in care quality and patient experience. Agencies with this designation began care on time for 99% of patients, compared to the national average of 94%. Among patients in top-rated agencies, 93% saw an improvement in walking and moving, compared to 83% nationwide. These patients were also more likely to get better at getting out of bed, bathing themselves and taking medications correctly.
Here are the states ranked by how many top-rated home health agencies they have:
California: 151
Texas: 133
Florida: 106
Louisiana: 77
Alabama: 73
Tennessee: 62
Illinois: 61
Pennsylvania: 53
North Carolina: 50
Ohio: 50
Kentucky: 44
Oklahoma: 39
Missouri: 38
Michigan: 34
Arkansas: 33
South Carolina: 32
Indiana: 30
Virginia: 29
Mississippi: 28
Massachusetts: 27
Georgia: 26
Wisconsin: 22
Minnesota: 21
New York: 21
West Virginia: 21
Arizona: 20
Iowa: 19
Colorado: 18
Kansas: 17
New Mexico: 15
Utah: 14
South Dakota: 12
Maryland: 11
Idaho: 10
Nevada: 9
New Jersey: 8
Maine: 7
Delaware: 6
New Hampshire: 6
Rhode Island: 6
Connecticut: 5
Nebraska: 5
Washington: 5
Oregon: 4
Wyoming: 3
North Dakota: 2
Hawaii: 1
Alaska: 0
District of Columbia: 0
Montana: 0
Vermont: 0
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