Civil Monetary Penalties (Annual Inflation Adjustments)

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published in the Federal Register on September 6, 2016 an Interim Final Rule (IFR) which adjusts for inflation of CMP amounts authorized under the Social Security Act. The IFR established new section 45 CFR Part 102, which lists the new CMP amounts and ranges as adjusted by the IFR for affected regulations. The changes made by the IFR were effective on September 6, 2016. While the IFR addresses all applicable CMPs under the authority of HHS, we are highlighting only those CMPs assessed for Skilled Nursing facilities (SNFs), Nursing Facilities (NFs), SNFs/NFs, Home Health Agencies (HHAs), Hospice programs and Clinical laboratories. Annual adjustments thereafter will also be annotated on this website.

On November 2, 2015, the President signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) (Sec. 701 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-74). The 2015 Act amends the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (the Inflation Adjustment Act) (Pub. L 101-410), which was enacted to improve the effectiveness of federal CMPs and to maintain their deterrent effect. Before 2015, CMPs authorized under the Social Security Act were exempt from inflation adjustments under the law. The 2015 Act requires agencies to:

• Adjust the level of applicable CMPs with an initial “catch-up” adjustment through interim final rulemaking (IFR); and,
• Make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation.

Subsequent annual adjustments are based on the percentage change of the CPI-U for the month of October if a current year exceeds the CPI for the month of October of the previous year. These adjustments are to be published in the Federal Register annually (see 45 CFR Part 102). To facilitate this process, this website will reflect adjustments under the authority of HHS for SNFs/NFs, HHAs, and Clinical laboratories.

Annual Update Published: Effective October 6, 2023 (see related links below)