Boise Senior AdvisorBy Boise Senior Advisor Care Team · September 25, 2026
CMS rates 24 Treasure Valley nursing homes; 8 hold four or five stars and 12 hold one or two. The local median is 3.77 nurse hours per resident per day and 49% nursing staff turnover. Use the component ratings, not the overall star alone.
How the stars are spread
CMS's five-star system combines three components: health inspections, staffing and quality measures. The overall rating is a summary, and two homes with the same overall star can be strong in very different ways.
| CMS overall rating | Treasure Valley homes |
|---|---|
| 5 of 5 | 2 |
| 4 of 5 | 6 |
| 3 of 5 | 4 |
| 2 of 5 | 8 |
| 1 of 5 | 4 |
Source: CMS Care Compare provider data as of October 1, 2026.
Staffing is where homes differ most
Source: CMS Care Compare provider data as of October 1, 2026.
Reported nurse hours come from payroll data submitted to CMS. Turnover counts how many nursing staff left in a year. High turnover is worth a question about agency staff and training, especially on nights and weekends.
Short-stay and long-stay homes are different businesses
Several Treasure Valley homes call themselves transitional care or post-acute centers because most residents arrive from a hospital for rehab and leave within weeks. Others are mainly long-term homes. CMS rates short-stay and long-stay quality separately, so read the measures that match your situation.
The Idaho State Veterans Home in Boise is a special case, serving eligible veterans and spouses.
What the CMS data cannot show
Ratings lag. Inspections can be more than a year old, and staffing data covers a past quarter. A change of administrator or owner can move a home up or down faster than the stars do. CMS flags ownership changes in the past twelve months, and our pages note them.
Visit at shift change, on a weekend, and at a meal. Ask how many residents each aide cares for on nights, and ask to read the latest statement of deficiencies.
Paying for a nursing home in Idaho
CareScout's 2025 Idaho medians are about $10,494 a month for a semi-private room and $12,167 for a private room. Medicare covers up to 100 days of skilled care after a qualifying three-day inpatient hospital stay, with a daily coinsurance from day 21. Long stays are paid privately until Idaho Medicaid takes over.
Ask each home before admission how it handles residents who convert from private pay to Medicaid.
Reading the inspection numbers
The local median is 11 health deficiencies in a home's latest inspection cycle. A count well above that is worth a look at the statement of deficiencies, which CMS links from Care Compare. Severity matters more than the count: a single finding of actual harm says more than several paperwork citations.
CMS also tracks fines and payment denials over three years, infection control citations and an abuse icon for homes with recent abuse citations. Our facility pages show each of these where CMS reports them.
One more check before choosing
Ask the home whether CMS has flagged an ownership change in the past year, since new owners can change staffing and management quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How many nursing homes are in the Treasure Valley?
CMS lists 24 certified nursing homes in our five counties.
What is a good staffing level?
There is no single standard; the local median is 3.77 total nurse hours per resident per day.
Are the stars up to date?
Our pages show CMS's data as of October 1, 2026; check Care Compare for the newest release.
Who inspects Idaho nursing homes?
IDHW surveyors carry out the federal inspections for CMS.
Which Treasure Valley nursing homes have five stars?
Check the roster's rating filter; the count changes with each CMS release.
Do nursing homes take Medicaid in Idaho?
Most certified homes do; ask how they handle residents who convert from private pay.
