CMS Updates Medicare Payment Rates for Skilled Nursing Facilities
New rules adjust fiscal year 2027 payment rates and modify quality reporting requirements for skilled nursing facilities.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is updating the policies and payment rates for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for fiscal year 2027. The changes also modify requirements for the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program and the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP).
CMS will remove two COVID-19 vaccination measures from the SNF QRP starting in fiscal year 2028: one tracking coverage among healthcare personnel and another tracking the percentage of residents who are up to date.
Data submission deadlines for the SNF QRP will shift beginning in fiscal year 2029. Facilities must submit data by the 15th day of the second month following the end of the quarter, a change from the previous 4.5-month deadline. Additionally, starting in fiscal year 2031, facilities must submit MDS data for all residents admitted for covered skilled care, regardless of the payer.
For the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program, the agency established final performance standards for the 2029 and 2030 program years. CMS also revised the "snapshot date" for two measures calculated using MDS assessment data to align with the new QRP submission deadlines, effective with fiscal year 2027 data.
These regulations take effect October 1, 2026.