FY2026 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule — what changed
CMS published the FY2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update final rule in the Federal Register. Here is what it changes for hospice teams — payment update, HQRP measures, and the labor-share update.
Primary source
Federal Register — FY2026 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule
What changed
CMS finalized the annual hospice payment update, wage-index revisions, and Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) measure adjustments for federal fiscal year 2026 (Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026). Providers should confirm exact percentages against the Federal Register version cited above; specific numbers change year-to-year and any figure quoted in third-party summaries should be verified.
What to do this month
Update your rate cards, notify billing, refresh CoP training packets, and pull the payment-impact analysis from your MAC. Verify your CASPER reports reflect the updated HQRP measure set. Communicate the payment change to leadership with a one-page impact model.
Why it matters
The Hospice Wage Index rule is the single largest annual operational shock for hospice organizations. Missed changes — labor-share updates, quality-reporting penalties, wage-area boundary shifts — compound quickly through the fiscal year.
Team checklist
- Read the Federal Register final rule (linked above).
- Pull the payment-impact analysis from your MAC.
- Update rate cards in your billing system.
- Refresh HQRP measure set in your quality dashboard.
- Communicate the payment-change impact to your leadership team.
- Update your CoP training packet if wage-share or labor policies changed.
Further reading
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