Rural Health
News by Topic: Healthcare quality

CMS: Medicare Program: Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Rates; Changes to the FY 2025 IPPS Rates Due to Court Decision; Requirements for Quality Programs; and Other Policy Changes; Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Electronic Prescribing, Real-Time Prescription Benefit and Electronic Prior Authorization Federal Register

Aug 4, 2025 - Notice of final rule from the Centers revising the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals for fiscal year 2026. This rule also makes changes related to Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals; updates payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals; updates and make changes to requirements for certain quality programs; and finalizes certain updates to the ONC Health Information Technology (IT) Certification Program among other things. These final rules are effective October 1, 2025.

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CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Federal Register

Aug 4, 2025 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updating the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS) payment rates for fiscal year 2026. Among other things, this rule updates the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. These regulations are effective October 1, 2025.

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HRSA Releases New Data Showing Health Centers Delivered High Quality Care to a Record Number of Patients

Aug 4, 2025 - Summarizes data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) describing utilization of HRSA-funded health centers. Discusses quality of care badges awarded to nearly 1,000 health centers across the country. Notes that 1 in 5 rural residents receive primary care from these health centers.

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CMS: Medicare Program; Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive Payment Advisory for Clinicians-Request for Current Billing Information for Qualifying APM Participants Federal Register

Jul 30, 2025 - Advisory notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to alert certain clinicians who are Qualifying APM participants (QPs) and have earned an Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive Payment that CMS does not have the current information needed to disburse the payment. Provides information to QPs on how to update their Medicare billing information so that CMS can disburse payments. All information should be sent to CMS by September 1, 2025.

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