We are all consumers and before I purchase anything of significance I look up reviews on line to make sure I’m getting the right product. One area of frustration has always been the healthcare industry, specifically hospitals. The assumption is that most insurance plans will cover, most if not all, of the hospitals in your area. Therefore we aren’t really shopping for price as much as quality of care.

This last week Medicare, by far the largest medical insurance payee, released its first ratings of more than 3,500 hospitals across the country. The ratings, based on patient reviews range from 0 – 5 stars. Medicare notes that “As for the stars themselves, a one-star rating doesn’t mean that you will receive poor care from a hospital It means that hospitals that received two or more stars performed better on this particular measure of patient experience of care.” This site no only rates hospitals in various categories but allows you to compare hospitals in a specified area.

While on the Medicare site you’ll also see:

• Nursing Home Compare
• Home Health Compare
• Dialysis Facility Compare
• Medicare Plan Finder
• Supplier Directory

Here is the Medicare Ratings Site.

Here is a sample of hospitals in my area: