Medicare Program; FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements

What it does

This proposed rule would update the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. This proposed rule also includes an analysis of Medicare non-hospice spending, including details regarding a hospice service and spending variation index (SSVI), and proposes to require that hospices provide the hospice election statement addendum to all Medicare beneficiaries at the time of hospice election. Additionally, this rule proposes conforming regulation text changes to discharge from hospice care regulations; regulation text changes to the face-to-face encounter regulations; and includes requests for information on community palliative care services; the construction of a hospice specific wage index; and the overlap between hospice and medical aid in dying (MAID). Finally, this rule proposes changes to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

42 CFR 418

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0938-AV78 since Jan. 1, 2025.

Since then:

• Aug. 3, 2026 Final rule. Medicare Program; FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
• Sept. 30, 2026 Final rule; correction. Medicare Program; FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements; Correction

What happens next and when

To be assured consideration, comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below by June 1, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket CMS-2026-1156 on Regulations.gov
• Title 42 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register