# 2026-15562: Medicare tweaks nursing home pay rates for 2027. 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, is a Federal Register rule from Health and Human Services Department, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published 2026-07-31, effective 2026-10-01; deemed significant under Executive Order 12866; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15562 - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-15562 - Title: Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 - Type: Rule - Agencies: Health and Human Services Department; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Citation: 91 FR 48588 - Published: 2026-07-31 - Effective: 2026-10-01 - Comments close: not stated - Significant: yes (OIRA_API) - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: 0938-AV75 - Last updated: 2026-11-04 ## In one line Medicare tweaks nursing home pay rates for 2027. ## Summary 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. ## Abstract This final rule finalizes changes and updates to the policies and payment rates used under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2027. This final rule also updates the requirements for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program. ## Effects PRIA read - FY2027 SNF Payment Update Finalized: benefit, medium. Starting October 1, 2026, Medicare updates the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) prospective payment rates for FY 2027. CMS finalized a 2022-based SNF market basket growth rate of 3.3 percent and applied a 0.9 percentage point productivity adjustment, resulting in a net FY 2027 market-basket update of… - 2.0‑Percentage‑Point Penalty For Missing Data: cost, high. SNFs that fail to submit required Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data for a fiscal year will receive a 2.0 percentage point reduction to their market basket update for that FY. This 2.0 percentage point reduction is applied after the productivity adjustment and applies only to the FY involved. - Two COVID Vaccination Measures Removed: benefit, low. Beginning with the FY 2028 SNF Quality Reporting Program, CMS will remove two measures: the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel measure and the COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date measure. These measures will no longer be part of SNF QRP reporting… - QRP Data Submission Deadline Shortened: cost, low. CMS changed SNF QRP data submission deadlines: beginning with the FY 2029 SNF QRP, data currently due 4.5 months after the end of each quarter must instead be submitted by the 15th day of the second month after the end of the quarter. This move accelerates the deadline for submitting QRP data. - MDS Submission Required For All Residents (By FY2031): cost, medium. CMS finalized a requirement that SNFs submit Minimum Data Set (MDS) data on every resident admitted for covered skilled care, regardless of the resident's payer, beginning with the FY 2031 SNF QRP. SNFs will need to report MDS assessments for all covered skilled residents starting with that program… - SNF VBP Standards and MDS Alignment Updated: mixed, medium. CMS finalized Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program updates including final performance standards for the FY 2029 and FY 2030 program years, revisions to the review-and-correction policy for measures calculated with MDS assessment data, and a revised 'snapshot date' for two MDS‑ba… - Wage Index Methodology Continued: mixed, low. For FY 2027, CMS will continue to base the SNF wage index on the concurrent pre‑reclassified Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) hospital wage data (without occupational mix, rural floor, or outmigration adjustments), using hospital cost report data for periods beginning on or after October… ## Related documents - [2026-22381](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22381): Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Organ Procurement Organizations Conditions for Coverage: Revisions to the Conditions for Coverage, 2026-11-03 - [2026-22194](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22194): Medicare Program; CY 2027 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Dialysis Paym…, 2026-10-30 - [2026-21420](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21420): Medicare Program; Implementation of Sections 6219, 6220, and 6224 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, 2026-10-20 - [2026-20281](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20281): Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) Model, 2026-10-02 - [2026-20131](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20131): Medicare Program; Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 and Updates to the IRF Quality…, 2026-10-01 - [2026-19959](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19959): Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Prog…, 2026-09-30 ## Sources - [2026-15562 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/31/2026-15562/medicare-program-prospective-payment-system-and-consolidated-billing-for-skilled-nursing-facilities) - [2026-15562 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-31/pdf/2026-15562.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-15556, Amendment of Class D Airspace and Class E Airspace Over Groton, CT](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15556) - [Next: 2026-15567, Reducing Bureaucracy and Burden for Family Assistance Programs](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15567) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-15562 (as of 2026-11-04).