Hospice QRP Announcements & Spotlight

About this Page

The Announcements & Spotlight web page provides recent news and updates pertinent to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). On this page, you will find announcements about newly posted resource guides and factsheets, available Quarterly Update documents, and Annual Payment Updates (APU) updates, among other notifications.

Updates

February 18, 2026

HQRP Public Reporting Quarterly Refresh – February 2026

The February 2026 quarterly refresh for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program is now available on the Compare tool on Medicare.gov.

Notably, one CAHPS measure—Training family to care for patient—will be removed from public reporting beginning with the May 2026 refresh. Reporting of this measure is expected to resume with the February 2028 refresh.

For more information, please visit the Hospice QRP Public Reporting Background and Announcements webpage and see the FY2026 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule at https://www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-Type/Hospice-Center.

February 12, 2026

Announcing an HQRP Forum on February 26, 2026 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a webinar on Thursday, February 26^th, from 1:00 – 2:00 P.M. ET to share updates regarding the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) implementation and the transition to iQIES.

Webinar Details

• Title: HQRP Forum
• Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
• Time: 1:00 – 2:00 P.M. ET

Questions?

For general questions about the webinar, please contact HospiceQualityQuestions@cms.hhs.gov.

February 11, 2026

Hospice Preview Reports for the May 2026 Refresh – NOW AVAILABLE IN QIES 

Providers can now access the latest Provider Preview Reports via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) application. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the May 2026 refresh.

Once released in CASPER, providers will have 30 days during which to review their quality measure results. The preview period for the latest Provider Preview Report lasts from February 11. 2026 to March 13, 2025. Although the actual “preview period” is 30 days, the reports will continue to be available for another 30 days, or a total of 60 days. CMS encourages providers to download and save their Hospice Provider Preview Reports for future reference, as they will no longer be available in CASPER after this 60-day period.  

Notably, one CAHPS measure—Training family to care for patient—will be removed from public reporting beginning with the May 2026 refresh. Reporting of this measure is expected to resume with the February 2028 refresh.

For more information, please visit the Hospice QRP Public Reporting Background and Announcements webpage.

You can also learn more about the Provider Preview Report (Assessment and Claims-based measures)  here and about the CAHPS Preview Report here. Hospice QRP Key Dates for Providers can be found here. 

January 29, 2026

Hospice Vendor Update and Errata (V1.00.3) for HOPE Data Specs (FINAL) Effective October 1, 2025

CMS announces the posting of an Errata V1.00.3 for the final HOPE data submission specifications (V1.00.1).  This errata document contains one additional issue regarding edits and these revisions will go into effect on February 18, 2026.

This information is available in the Downloads section of the HOPE Technical Information

January 22, 2026

Important Updates on the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP)

Swingtech sends informational messages to hospices related to the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) on a quarterly basis. Their latest outreach communication can be found on the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage. If you want to receive Swingtech’s quarterly emails, add or update the email addresses to which these messages are sent by sending an email to QRPHelp@swingtech.com. Be sure to include the name of your facility and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Certification Number (CCN) along with any requested updates.

January 9, 2026

Updated Information Gathering Report for Hospice Quality Reporting Program

CMS has released the Hospice Quality Reporting Program 2025 Information Gathering Report.  This report provides information from literature reviews and supports an understanding of current trends in hospice care. It includes findings related to hospice use, hospice care delivery, and caregiver support

The updated Information Gathering Report is available in the downloads section of the Provider and Stakeholder Engagement webpage.

November 26, 2025

HQRP Public Reporting Quarterly Refresh – November 2025

The November 2025 quarterly refresh for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program is now available on the Compare tool on Medicare.gov.

For more information, please visit the Hospice QRP Public Reporting Background and Announcements webpage and see the FY2026 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule at https://www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-Type/Hospice-Center.

November 18, 2025

Because of the lapse in federal appropriations, scheduled data refreshes and other routine updates were temporarily paused. With the resumption of government operations on November 13, these updates are now being released.

Hospice Preview Reports for the February 2026 Refresh – NOW AVAILABLE IN QIES
Providers can now access the latest Provider Preview Reports via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) application. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the February 2026 refresh.

Hospice Care Index (HCI) Measure Update
CMS identified and corrected an issue affecting how the Late Live Discharge and Early Live Discharge indicators were calculated within the Hospice Care Index (HCI) measure. The correction was applied to the programming logic used in calculating these indicators to ensure that each hospice’s score reflects only the care it provided to its own patients. This correction affects a small percentage of hospice providers.

Archived data will be updated with the corrected methodology in a future release.

Once released in CASPER, providers will have 30 days during which to review their quality measure results. The preview period for the latest Provider Preview Report lasts from November 18, 2025 to December 18, 2025. Although the actual “preview period” is 30 days, the reports will continue to be available for another 30 days, or a total of 60 days. CMS encourages providers to download and save their Hospice Provider Preview Reports for future reference, as they will no longer be available in CASPER after this 60-day period.  

For more information, please visit the Hospice QRP Public Reporting Background and Announcements webpage.

You can also learn more about the Provider Preview Report (Assessment and Claims-based measures)  Public Reporting: Provider Preview Report and Requests for CMS Review of Data and about the CAHPS Preview Report Public Reporting: Key Dates for Providers. Hospice QRP Key Dates for Providers can be found Public Reporting: Key Dates for Providers.

October 1, 2025

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted an update to the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) Materials to include language that best reflects the role of the LPN/LVN in providing the Symptom Follow-up Visit (SFV). Updated materials include the HOPE Guidance Manual v1.02 and the Item sets (HOPE Admission v1.02, HOPE Update Visit (HUV) v1.02, HOPE Discharge v1.02 and HOPE ALL Item v1.02). The HOPE v1.01 to v1.02 Guidance Manual and Item Set Change Table  details these changes. All materials can be accessed from the Downloads section on the CMS HQRP HOPE webpage.    Please NOTE: None of the changes impact the current HOPE Data Specifications.

Hospice Quality Reporting Program Archives