Federal Register #2026-20067

CMS correction to Medicare hospice wage index and payment rates

CMS issued a technical correction to its Medicare hospice payment rule; this notice is not a procurement opportunity. - Government entity: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). - Action: Corrects errors in the FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements. - Correction details: Restores data for a hospital mistakenly excluded from wage-index calculations and updates related hospice wage-index values, standardization factors, payment rates, figures, and impact tables, including rates for hospices that do and do not submit required quality data. - Policy impact: The correction does not change the rule’s underlying policies or payment methodologies. - Procurement: No products or services, quantities, part numbers, OEMs, or vendors are identified.

Description

This final rule correction addresses technical errors in the FY 2027 hospice wage index and payment rate update rule published August 3, 2026. CMS restored data for a hospital that was inadvertently excluded from wage-index calculations and recalculated hospice wage-index values, standardization factors, and payment rates. It makes corresponding corrections to the rule’s preamble, tables, and impact analysis. The correction is effective October 1, 2026.

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