On April 11, 2025, CMS released the proposed rule for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) in alignment with Executive Order 14192. Key health equity proposals include the removal of health equity requirements related to Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program, and the new mandatory Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).
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What's Inside
Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Measures: Details on CMS's proposal to remove 3 health equity-related quality measures dedicated to hospitals' health equity commitment and SDOH screening processes.
Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) Health Equity Adjustment: Details on CMS's proposal to remove the Health Equity Adjustment (HEA) from HVBP scoring methodology and how the justification differs from evidence-based reasoning.
Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) Voluntary Health Equity Reporting: CMS is proposing to remove voluntary health equity reporting opportunities and have clarified that they will no longer be expecting demographic data collection for specific variables, including gender identity and sexual orientation.