CMS Issues FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index Proposed Rule
(April 15, 2025) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Hospice Wage Index Proposed Rule on April 11th. The proposed hospice payment update percentage for FY 2026 is 2.4 percent. The proposed hospice cap amount for the FY 2026 cap year is $35,292.51.
Points of interest in the updated rule:
Admission to Hospice – CMS proposes to add the text “or the physician member of the hospice interdisciplinary group” at §418.25(a) and (b) to indicate that, in addition to the medical director or physician designee, the physician member of the hospice interdisciplinary group (IDG) may also determine admission to hospice care.
Face-to-Face – CMS proposes that the attestation from the physician or nurse practitioner who conducts the face-to-face must include their signature and date of signing.
Hospice Quality Reporting Program – CMS continues to endorse the Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life measure, their plan to maintain the Comprehensive Assessment at Admission measure as part of public reporting, and the re-specification of the Hospice Care Index measure through a Technical Expert Panel.
HOPE – There is no planned delay for the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool.
iQIES – The rule provides an update on the transition to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) for hospice providers.
RFIs – Requests for information (RFIs) are included regarding the current state of health information technology use including electronic health records, interoperability, wellbeing, and nutrition.
RFI on Streamlining Regulations and Reducing Administrative Burdens – In January, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14192, "Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation." To comply with the EO, CMS is including in the proposed rule an RFI seeking public input on approaches and opportunities to streamline regulations and reduce burdens on those participating in the Medicare program. The RFI is available here, and the public should submit all comments in response to the RFI through the provided weblink.
A Fact Sheet summarizing the proposal is available here, and a link to the proposal is here. LeadingAge National’s article on the rule is here.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871