Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems; and Quality Reporting Programs; Including the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program and Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Program; Request for Information on Strengthening the Standardization and Comparability of Hospital Price Transparency (HPT) Data; Prior Authorization; Accrediting Organization (AO) Deeming for Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and Notices of Closure of Teaching Hospitals and Opportunities To Apply for Available Slots
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register July 7, 2026. Document 2026-13656. Updated Nov. 8, 2026.
- What it does
This proposed rule would revise the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payment system for calendar year 2027 based on our continuing experience with these systems. We also describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare services paid under the OPPS and those paid under the ASC payment systems. In addition, this proposed rule would update and refine the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program and the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program. There are no changes to the Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting Program. We propose to expand the prior authorization requirement to include additional Botulinum Toxin Injection services. We also propose to implement certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, for off-campus outpatient departments of a provider. In addition, this proposed rule announces notices of closure of teaching hospitals and opportunities to apply for available slots. This rule also requests information regarding potential approaches to improve comparability and standardization, particularly for complex contracting methodologies, of the HPT information reported in machine- readable files and consumer-friendly displays. We propose hospital AOs with deeming authority to assess compliance with certain Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) administrative requirements during accreditation and reaccreditation surveys. Finally, we are soliciting comments on a potential separate payment under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for domestic procurement of personal protective equipment and essential medicines.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What it would change
5 parts of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
- Before this
No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0938-AV83 since Jan. 1, 2025.
Since then:
- What happens next and when
To be assured consideration, comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, by August 31, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-13656 |
|---|---|
| Action | Proposed rule. |
| Agencies | Health and Human Services Department; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services |
| Published | July 7, 2026 |
| Comments close | Aug. 31, 2026 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 0938-AV83 |
| Docket | CMS-2026-2344 |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register