Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Spotlights & Announcements

Now available! Our new Provider Data Catalog makes it easier for you to search and download our publicly reported data. We’ve also improved Medicare’s compare sites.

Find program guidance and information about our response to COVID-19 here: COVID-19 Updates

Updates

June 26, 2024

Care Compare June Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available

The June 2024 refresh of the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data is now available on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).

For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.

June 18, 2024

CMS LCDS Quarterly Q&As, June 2024, Consolidated September 2020 to June 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) Quarterly Q&As, in June of 2024. The document contains the consolidated Q&As from September 2020 to June 2024 so that all LTCH providers have the benefit of clarifications to existing guidance. Through inquiries to the LTCH Post-Acute Care (PAC) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Help Desk, CMS identifies the opportunity to clarify or refine guidance. 

The Quarterly Q&A document can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH CARE Data Set and LCDS Manual webpage. 

June 14, 2024

Revised LTCH QRP QM User’s Manual V5.0 Appendices – Now Available

Through our quality assurance processes, CMS identified a minor calculation issue in the Risk Adjustment Appendix File and Imputation Appendix File published with the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Quality Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual Version 5.0, specifically affecting the imputation coefficients for admission GG items and the risk adjustment coefficients for the LTCH Discharge Function Score measure. The updated Risk Adjustment Appendix File and Imputation Appendix File now contain corrected coefficient values. This issue will not affect the LTCH Provider Preview Reports or the upcoming public reporting of the LTCH Discharge Function Score measure.

These files can be accessed in the Downloads section of the CMS LTCH QRP Quality Reporting Measures Information webpage.

June 14, 2024

LTCH Provider Preview Reports – Now Available

The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the September 2024 refresh.

For more information, please visit the CMS LTCH QRP Public Reporting webpage.

May 17, 2024

Updated Quick Reference Guide Available

An updated Quick Reference Guide is now available in the Downloads section of the LTCH Quality Reporting Data Submission Deadlines webpage. The Quick Reference Guide provides high-level information on the Long Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program, including frequently asked questions and helpful links.

May 9, 2024

Reminder of Upcoming Data Submission Deadline

The submission deadline for the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) is approaching. LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) assessment data and data submitted via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for October 1 – December 31 (Q4) of calendar year (CY) 2023 are due with this submission deadline. The annual NHSN measure Influenza Vaccination among Healthcare Personnel is also due with this deadline.

All data must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on May 15, 2024.

It is recommended that the applicable Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) reports and NHSN analysis reports are run prior to each quarterly reporting deadline to ensure that all required data were submitted. We encourage you to verify all facility information prior to submission, including CMS Certification Number (CCN) and facility name.

View the list of measures required for this deadline on the LTCH Quality Reporting Data Submission Deadlines webpage.

For submission information, visit:

• iQIES Reference & Manuals
• CMS Resources for NHSN Users

Swingtech sends informational messages to LTCHs that are not meeting Annual Payment Update (APU) threshold on a quarterly basis ahead of each submission deadline. If you need to add or change the email addresses to which these messages are sent, please email QRPHelp@swingtech.com and be sure to include your facility name and CCN along with any requested email updates.

April 10, 2024

IPPS/LTCH PPS for FY 2025; and Updates to the LTCH QRP (CMS-1808-P) 

On April 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule (CMS-1808-P) that provides proposals for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Long-Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program (LTCH QRP). This proposed rule includes four new assessment items in the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) category: (1) Living Situation, (2) Food, and (3) Utilities. CMS is also proposing to modify the Transportation item and modify one the Administrative item to extend the three day assessment window to a four day assessment window. Finally, CMS is seeking feedback with two Requests for Information (RFIs) on quality measure concepts under consideration for future LTCH QRP years and a star rating system for publicly reporting LTCH QRP measures on Care Compare.

 The proposed rule went on display at the Federal Register and will be available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection

March 28, 2024

Care Compare March Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available

The March 2024 refresh of the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data is now available on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).

For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.

March 20, 2024

CMS LCDS Quarterly Q&As, March 2024, Consolidated September 2020 to March 2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) Quarterly Q&As, in March of 2024. The document contains the consolidated Q&As from September 2020 to March 2024 so that all LTCH providers have the benefit of the clarifications to existing guidance. Through inquiries to the LTCH Post-Acute Care (PAC) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Help Desk, CMS identifies the opportunity to clarify or refine guidance. While no new Q&As were added to the consolidated document for this release, CMS has archived some Q&As either because the guidance has been added to the LCDS 5.1 Manual, or the Q&As have been retired. 

The Quarterly Q&A document can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH CARE Data Set and LCDS Manual webpage.

March 15, 2024

LTCH Provider Preview Reports – Now Available

The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the June 2024 refresh.

For more information, please visit the CMS LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.

February 14, 2024

SUMMARY REPORT PUBLISHED: LTCH QRP Listening Session: Administrative Burden of the LTCH QRP

CMS has published a summary report on the virtual LTCH QRP Listening Session that was held on October 17, 2023 by Acumen, LLC. This session was held to seek feedback from LTCH providers on potential improvements to the LTCH QRP, the LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS), advancements to interoperability, and opportunities to enhance provider education. The report presents a summary of the presentation for each discussion topic, stakeholder input for each of the discussion questions, and key findings. The discussion topics included an overview of the LTCH QRP and the maturation of the LCDS, the current state of interoperability in LTCHs, and existing and potential future methods of provider education from CMS. This report can be found on the LTCH QRP Measures Information page.

February 1, 2024

CMS LCDS Manual Version 5.1

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) Manual, Version 5.1, effective October 1, 2024. A Change Table outlining the revisions to the CMS LCDS Manual Version 5.1 is also published.

The Manual and Change Table can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH CARE Data Set and LTCH QRP Manual webpage.

January 19, 2024

NOW AVAILABLE: CMS FAQ Document and Methodology Report for the Post-Acute Care Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports

In October 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two Health Equity Confidential Feedback Reports to post-acute care (PAC) providers: the Discharge to Community (DTC) Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report and the Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB) Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report.

To answer frequently asked questions and to provide methodological information about these reports, CMS released the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Document and the Methodology Report. The materials can be access through these links:

• CMS Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Document (PDF)
• CMS Health Equity Confidential Feedback Report Methodology Report (PDF)

December 20, 2023

Care Compare December Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available

The December 2023 Refresh of the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data is now available on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).

For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.

LTCH Quality Reporting Program Archives