Medicare Wants More of Your Data, Pretends to Care

2026-19959, Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2027; Correction

This correction fixes some technical mistakes in Medicare payment rules for skilled nursing facilities starting October 1, 2026. It mainly affects how hospital data is used to calculate payments, making sure no current hospitals are wrongly excluded. These tweaks help keep Medicare payments fair and accurate for providers and patients.

2026-20067, Medicare Program; FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements; Correction

This correction fixes some technical mistakes in the FY 2027 hospice payment and wage index rules that were first published in August 2026. It mainly affects hospice providers by updating how their payments are calculated, making sure the numbers are accurate starting October 1, 2026. These changes help ensure hospices get the right payment amounts based on the latest hospital wage data.

2026-19946, 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) 2027 Rates; Requirements for Quality Programs; Other Policy Changes; and Adoption of Updated Versions of Certain Health Information Technology Standards; Correction

This update fixes some typos and technical mistakes in the Medicare payment rules for hospitals starting October 1, 2026. It affects hospitals getting paid for patient care, making sure the payment system and quality programs run smoothly. These corrections help hospitals get the right payments and follow updated health tech standards without delays or confusion.

2026-15652, Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 and Updates to the IRF Quality Reporting Program

This final rule updates the prospective payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2027. As required by statute, this final rule includes the classification and weighting factors for the IRF prospective payment system's (PPS) case-mix groups and a description of the methodologies and data used in computing the prospective payment rates for FY 2027. It also finalizes the third and final of the 3-year phaseout of the rural adjustment, which began in FY 2025. This final rule includes a solicitation for public comments on alternative data sources for the IRF PPS wage index; requires all therapy treatments and/or therapy evaluations to begin no later than 36 hours from midnight on the day of admission; finalizes requirements for the initial Interdisciplinary Team meeting to occur on or before 4 days from the date the patient is admitted; and summarizes a request for information on potential future IRF PPS payment reform. Additionally, this final rule includes updates to the IRF Quality Reporting Program and changes to the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program.

2026-15686, Medicare Program; FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements

This final rule updates the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for fiscal year 2027. This final rule also includes an analysis of Medicare non-hospice spending, including details regarding a hospice service and spending variation index, and finalizes the requirement that hospices provide the hospice election statement addendum to all Medicare beneficiaries at the time of hospice election. Additionally, this rule finalizes conforming changes to discharge from hospice care regulations and changes to the face-to-face encounter regulations. This final rule also includes a summary of comments received on our requests for information regarding community- based palliative care; the construction of a hospice specific wage index; and the overlap between hospice and medical aid in dying laws. Finally, this rule finalizes changes to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program.

2026-15562, Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2027

Starting October 1, 2026, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) will see updated payment rates and new rules for how Medicare pays them. The Quality Reporting and Value-Based Purchasing programs are also getting tweaks to help improve care. These changes affect SNFs nationwide and could impact how much money they get and how they report quality data.

Previous: 2025-21120, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA); Interpretation of “Federal Public Benefit”

This notice explains how HUD defines “Federal public benefit” under a 1996 law that limits certain government help to non-citizens who aren’t qualified aliens. It updates previous HUD rules, clarifying who can get things like housing, food aid, or loans, and when providers must check eligibility. If you’re affected, expect clearer rules on benefits starting now, helping protect government funds and ensure fairness.

Next: 2025-21122, Joint Industry Plan; Order Instituting Proceedings To Determine Whether To Approve or Disapprove an Amendment to the National Market System Plan Governing the Consolidated Audit Trail

Big stock market players like exchanges and FINRA want to change how they pay for the Consolidated Audit Trail, a system that tracks all stock trades. They’ve proposed a new fee plan to make funding fairer and clearer, and the SEC is now deciding if it’s a good idea. If approved, these changes could affect fees soon and help keep the system running smoothly.