1. Home
  2. Tools
  3. Comparison Builder
Agency comparison builder icon, two provider cards on a balance scale for comparing home health agencies

For families narrowing down their top agency choices

Agency Comparison Builder

Select up to 3 home health agencies to compare side by side on quality ratings, services, and performance measures.

About This Tool

Quality metrics, star ratings, and Medicare spending data come directly from the CMS Home Health Compare dataset. Star ratings are calculated by CMS using a weighted combination of quality measures and patient experience surveys. Green highlighting indicates the best value in each comparison row.

Data source: CMS.gov Home Health Compare, January 2026 release. Last reviewed: March 2026. This tool provides general guidance only and does not constitute medical advice.

Questions to Ask When Contacting Agencies

Once you have compared agencies, call your top picks. Here are the most important questions to ask:

1. Do you accept my insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, private)?

2. How quickly can you start services after receiving a referral?

3. Will I have a consistent nurse or aide, or will staff rotate?

4. What happens if I need care on evenings, weekends, or holidays?

5. How do you communicate with my doctor about my care plan?

6. What is your procedure if I am unsatisfied with a caregiver?

7. Do your staff speak my preferred language?

Need More Information?

These tools can help you make a final decision on the right agency.

View Quality Report Estimate Costs Check Medicare Eligibility

Frequently Asked Questions

All quality data comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), specifically the Home Health Compare dataset released in January 2026. CMS collects this data through patient outcome tracking, Medicare claims analysis, and OASIS patient assessments completed by every Medicare-certified home health agency.
Each quality measure tracks a specific patient outcome. Timely Care Initiation measures how quickly care starts after referral. Walking/Moving Improvement and Bed Transfer Improvement track how much patients improve physically. Bathing Improvement measures progress in daily self-care. Drug Management measures how well medications are managed. Higher percentages are better for improvement measures; lower percentages are better for adverse events like falls.
The Medicare Spending per Beneficiary number compares an agency's average cost to the national average. A value of 1.0 means exactly average. Below 1.0 means the agency costs Medicare less than average, and above 1.0 means it costs more. Lower is not always better — it depends on the complexity of patients served.
Agencies may lack quality data if they are newly certified, serve too few Medicare patients to generate statistically reliable measures, or have not yet completed a full reporting cycle. About 34% of Florida's 1,116 agencies do not have a star rating. Lack of data does not necessarily indicate poor quality.
Start by comparing star ratings as an overall quality indicator. Then look at the specific measures that matter most for your situation — for example, if you need physical therapy, focus on the Walking/Moving and Bed Transfer improvement scores. Also compare services offered and ownership type. Call your top two choices to ask about scheduling, communication practices, and caregiver consistency.

Helpful Articles

Related Tools

Continue your research with these free home health tools:

Home Care Fit Quiz

Find which services match your care needs in 2 minutes.

Cost Estimator

Estimate weekly and monthly home health costs in Florida.

Discharge Checklist

24-item checklist to prepare for a safe hospital-to-home transition.

Quality Report

Annual data analysis of Florida's home health agencies and quality trends.

Medicare Explainer

Check if you qualify for Medicare-covered home health care.