CMS Issues FFY 2026 Proposed Payment And Policy Updates

CMS released FFY 2026 Medicare hospice, inpatient rehabilitation, inpatient psychiatric, LTCH and IPPS proposed payment and policy updates. The rules include the following.

IPPS

• Rate increase of 3.2%; 2.4% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• Removal of the low wage index hospital policy
• Promoting interoperability program updates
• Hospital inpatient quality reporting and pay-for-performance program updates
• Updates to the TEAM model
• Requests for information about reducing regulation and administrative burdens in Medicare
• Comments due by Thursday, June 5

LTCH PPS

• Rate increase of 3.4%; 2.6% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• LTCH quality reporting program updates
• Comments due by Thursday, June 5

IRF PPS

• Rate increase of 3.4%; 2.6% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• IRF quality reporting program updates
• Requests for information about reducing regulation and administrative burdens in Medicare
• Comments due by Tuesday, June 10

IPF PPS

• Rate increase of 3.2%; 2.4% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• IPF quality reporting program updates
• Requests for information about reducing regulation and administrative burdens in Medicare
• Comments due by Tuesday, June 10

SNF PPS

• Rate increase of 3.2%; 2.4% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• Revisions to the patient-driven payment model
• SNF quality reporting program and value-based purchasing program updates
• Requests for information about reducing regulation and administrative burdens in Medicare

Hospice

• Rate increase of 3.2%; 2.4% after accounting for a 0.8% productivity adjustment
• Requests for information about reducing regulation and administrative burdens in Medicare
• Hospice quality reporting program updates

MHA will schedule a meeting for the short-term acute inpatient hospital advisory group and the post short-term acute hospital advisory group to determine areas of the proposed rules that require comments. If you are interested in becoming a member of either of the advisory groups, please contact Andrew Wheeler. MHA soon will publish an issue brief for each of the proposed rules.