Terms of Service

By accessing or using BetterCareSearch.com, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. These terms apply to all visitors, users, and anyone who accesses or uses the service.

All facility ratings, inspection results, staffing figures, and penalty records on BetterCareSearch originate from the CMS Provider Data Catalog, a publicly available dataset published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a U.S. federal agency. BetterCareSearch is not affiliated with CMS, Medicare, Medicaid, or the U.S. government. Use of this public data does not imply government endorsement.

No warranty of accuracy

Data is republished as-is from CMS. We make no warranty of accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any purpose.

Data latency

Our database syncs monthly when CMS publishes updates. Data may lag CMS publication by days or weeks.

CMS methodology limitations

CMS star ratings have documented limitations (self-reported staffing, inspection cycle variability). See our About page for full methodology details.

Verify critical information

Always verify facility-specific details directly at data.cms.gov before making care decisions.

The information on BetterCareSearch is for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, clinical guidance, care placement advice, or a recommendation of any specific nursing home or healthcare facility.

Never make a care decision based solely on information from this site. Always visit facilities in person, consult with licensed healthcare professionals, speak directly with facility staff and administrators, and verify information independently. In a medical emergency, call 911.

BetterCareSearch is operated by AutoRise Media, a private company. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a product of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare, Medicaid, or any government agency. Facility names and certification statuses are used for identification and informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement or affiliation.

Personal research

Researching nursing home options for yourself or a family member

Journalism & research

Journalists, academics, and researchers citing BetterCareSearch with proper attribution

AI assistants

AI assistants and crawlers indexing and citing this content are explicitly welcome — see our robots.txt

General public

Any lawful, non-commercial personal use of the information presented

Commercial data redistribution

Systematic scraping or bulk downloading of our compiled data, citable summaries, trend analysis, or enriched facility records for commercial redistribution without written permission. Note: the underlying CMS data is public domain; our derived work and structure are proprietary.

Misrepresentation

Presenting BetterCareSearch content as your own original work, or implying affiliation with this site

Harassment or defamation

Using this site's data to harass, defame, or make fraudulent claims about any facility or individual

Unlawful use

Any use that violates applicable federal, state, or local law

CMS source data

Works of the U.S. federal government are public domain under 17 U.S.C. §105

BetterCareSearch original content

Citable summaries, quality trend analysis, enrichment logic, site design, and original written content are © AutoRise Media, all rights reserved

Brand

The BetterCareSearch name and logo are proprietary marks of AutoRise Media

Facility names

Used under nominative fair use for identification purposes only; no endorsement or affiliation is implied

All facility ratings, inspection deficiencies, violation records, and penalty data displayed on BetterCareSearch are sourced from official CMS public records and are republished as a fair and accurate representation of those records. This information is a matter of public record, published by a federal agency, and subject to public record privilege under applicable law.

If you believe a specific facility's data is materially incorrect as reflected in CMS records, please visit our Contact page. Errors in the underlying CMS dataset must be corrected directly with CMS; we sync monthly and will reflect corrections in our next update.

BetterCareSearch is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. Data accuracy is dependent on CMS — we make no independent verification of CMS records.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, AutoRise Media and BetterCareSearch shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, this site or its information. This includes but is not limited to damages arising from care placement decisions, legal actions, financial losses, or reliance on facility data.

BetterCareSearch does not endorse any listed facility. A high CMS rating reflects government data, not our independent recommendation. We are not responsible for the conduct, quality, or outcomes of any listed facility.

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state in which AutoRise Media is incorporated, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that state.

We may update these terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. We recommend reviewing this page periodically.