The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has proposed updates to payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year 2026. The proposal includes adjustments to prospective payment rates, the quality reporting program, and rural adjustments. CMS aims to update IRF payments by 2.6 percent with specific changes like adjusting the COVID-19-related measures and seeking public comments on proposed changes in data collection and reporting processes. These updates are presented with detailed impact analyses to assess how the changes might affect different types of IRFs.
Simple Explanation
The people in charge of Medicare want to change how they pay hospitals that help people get better after being sick. They also want to change some rules about reporting information, like not needing to tell about COVID vaccines for hospital workers anymore.