The free sources
| Source | What it covers | What it leaves to you |
|---|---|---|
| CMS All Owners files (data.cms.gov) | Owners of Medicare-enrolled nursing homes and hospitals, with roles and percentages | Rolling owners up into groups; joining to other provider types |
| CMS change of ownership files | Nursing home and hospital sales filed with Medicare: buyer, seller and effective date | Recent quarters that are still being filled in; who sits above the buyer |
| Private Equity Stakeholder Project | Research reports and trackers on private equity, including healthcare | Facility-level coverage and dates for every link |
| Lown Institute Hospitals Index | Hospital rankings on equity, value and patient outcomes (2026-27 edition) | Owners and operators as data; nursing homes and urgent care |
| Trade press lists (for example Becker's) | Lists of systems, chains and deals | Structured data you can filter, join or cite |
How current the free files are (October 2026)
| CMS file | Latest release | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Nursing Facility Enrollments and All Owners | October 1, 2026 (data as of September 29) | Monthly |
| Hospital All Owners | October 1, 2026 | Monthly |
| Nursing Home Chain Performance Measures | September 1, 2026 | Monthly |
| Skilled Nursing Facility Change of Ownership | September 1, 2026 | Quarterly |
Each release replaces the last, so a file downloaded today shows the current owners but not the history. Keeping the history means saving every release and comparing them.
What a joined reference adds
- One record per facility, tied to its operator and up to its ultimate owner.
- Hospitals, nursing homes and urgent care in the same structure, by county and state.
- A source and a last-confirmed date on every link, and history when it changes.
- Exports and alerts, so you don't rebuild the join for every project.
When free is enough
For one facility or a single question, the free sources are often all you need, and our public pages link to them. A joined reference pays off when you work across many facilities, several provider types or a whole market.
Questions
Do you use these sources?
We build on federal public records such as CMS and NPPES. Research and news sources are cited and linked, never copied.
Is the CMS data enough for nursing homes?
It is the best starting point. It names owners and percentages, but rolling them into groups and keeping them dated takes extra work.