Fiscal Year 2027 - Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements Final Rule
Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update
On July 30, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (CMS-1851-F) that would update Medicare hospice payments and the aggregate cap amount for fiscal year (FY) 2027 under existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
FY 2027 Routine Annual Rate Setting Changes
For FY 2027, CMS updated the hospice payment rate by 2.3% (an estimated increase of $755 million in payments from FY 2026).
Final Hospice Cap Amount
Hospice payments are subject to a statutory aggregate cap limiting the overall payments made to a hospice annually. The finalized hospice cap amount for FY 2027 is $36,174.75 (FY 2026 cap amount of $35,361.44 increased by the FY 2027 hospice payment update percentage of 2.3%) dated the hospice payment rate by 2.3% (an estimated increase of $755 million in payments from FY 2026).
Hospice Quality Reporting Program
In this rule, CMS will add an icon to the Medicare.gov Care Compare tool to identify hospices that fail to submit any quality data, or submit less than the required 90%, within a given year — effective no earlier than FY 2028. To comply, hospices must submit quality data through the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool within 30 days of the patient's HOPE admission, HOPE Update Visit (HUV), and HOPE discharge dates.
Finalized Mandatory Hospice Election Statement Addendum
In this final rule, CMS made the addendum mandatory for all those electing hospice and not just those who request the addendum. This change ensures that all beneficiaries have greater transparency into non-covered items, services, or drugs to make care decisions that align with their treatment preferences and goals, potentially leading to a decrease in beneficiary out-of-pocket costs. This requirement may hold hospices more accountable for the items, services, and drugs they are required to provide. The addendum also will provide needed information to non-hospice providers for claims submission.