Rulemaking Schedule
General Schedule of Rulemaking for Medicare Payment Systems
As described earlier, CMS refines Medicare payment policy through annual rulemaking and responds to changes in clinical practice and industry operations. We include below the general timeframes for the annual rulemaking for the Medicare payment systems described in this section.
Fiscal Year (FY) Cycle: October 1 - September 30
- Inpatient Prospective Payment System/Long-term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System
FY Rulemaking Phase | Approximate Timeframe |
---|---|
Proposed rule development |
Fall/winter |
Proposed rule publication |
Late spring (around April) |
Comment period |
Late spring - early summer |
Final rule publication |
On or about August 1 |
Final rule effective date |
October 1 |
Calendar Year (CY) Cycle: January 1 – December 31
- Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System
- Physician Fee Schedule, including Part B Drugs and clinical diagnostic laboratory tests
- End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System
CY Rulemaking Phase | Approximate Timeframe |
---|---|
Proposed rule development |
Winter/spring |
Proposed rule publication |
Summer (June/July) |
Comment period |
Late summer - early fall |
Final rule publication |
On or about November 1 |
Final rule effective date |
January 1 |
DMEPOS rulemaking occurs as needed.
For more information, refer to CMS Rulemaking.