Now Available: Program Candidate eCQM Specifications for Potential Inclusion in 2026 Reporting Period

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted the electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) specifications for measures proposed for inclusion in the 2026 reporting period for Eligible Hospitals (EH) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program. Measures will not be eligible for 2026 reporting unless and until they are proposed and finalized through notice-and-comment rulemaking for each applicable program.

Where to Find the Program Candidate (formerly known as “Pre-Rulemaking”) Measure Information
The eCQM specifications for measures proposed for inclusion in CMS hospital programs are available on the Electronic Clinical Quality Improvement (eCQI) Resource Center. The measure information can be found under the EH/CAH Program Candidate eCQMs program page.
Quality measures posted to the Program Candidate pages have been fully developed, but not yet finalized for reporting in a CMS program. These measures will not be eligible for CMS quality reporting until they are proposed and finalized through notice-and-comment rulemaking for each applicable program. 

eCQM Value Sets, Direct Reference Codes, and Terminology 
The value sets for the 2026 program candidate eCQMs will be available through the National Library of Medicine’s Value Set Authority Center (VSAC) Downloadable Resources page as a complete set, as well as value sets per eCQM within the 2025 reporting period information. The direct reference codes specified within the eCQM HQMF files will also be available in a separate file for download. The 2025 reporting period information will be available in the eCQM Annual Update publication in early May.

For Questions Regarding eCQMs visit the eCQM Issue Tracker. Note that an ONC Project Tracking System (Jira) account is required to submit a question or comment.