CMS Issues FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS Proposed Rule

On April 11 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update fiscal year (FY) 2026 Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS).

The FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule went on display at the Office of the Federal Register Public Inspection Desk at  the federal register and will be on display from April 11, 2025 until the regulation is published on April 30, 2025. To view the display version of the FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule, go to the following web address and click “download the unpublished” PDF version: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2025-06271/medicare-program-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-systems-for-acute-care-hospitals-and-the.

Proposed changes to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and other quality reporting programs are included in the regulation. Details regarding proposals for various quality reporting programs can be found on the pages listed below:

• Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program pp. 695-714
• Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program pp. 715-741
• Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program pp. 742-748
• Hospital IQR Program pp. 832-874
• PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting Program pp. 875-883
• Promoting Interoperability Program pp. 907-958

CMS will accept comments on the FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule until June 10, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and will respond to comments in the FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS final rule, to be issued by August 1, 2025. Comments can be submitted electronically or via regular mail or express/overnight mail. Please review the FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS proposed rule for specific instructions for each method and submit using only one method.

For more information on the proposed rule, please see the FY 2026 IPPS/LTCH PPS Proposed Rule Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-2026-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-care-hospital-prospective#:~:text=The%20proposed%20rule%20would%20update,LTCHs%20on%20an%20annual%20basis.

For further assistance regarding the information contained in this message, please contact the Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting (VIQR) Outreach and Education Support Team at https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/qnet_qa?id=ask_a_question or (844) 472-4477.