AHA comments to CMS on FY 2027 hospital inpatient PPS proposed rule

The AHA June 9 commented on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' hospital inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year 2027. The AHA expressed support for several provisions in the rule, including proposed updates to define "new" residency programs under the graduate medical education policies and the removal of certain measures from the quality reporting program regarding sepsis mortality. The AHA voiced concerns about CMS' proposed 2.4% net payment update and the productivity adjustment, as well as the agency's estimates to calculate disproportionate-share hospital and uncompensated care payments. In addition, the AHA recommended that CMS provide additional analysis on the effects of the inclusion of Medicare Advantage enrollees in quality measure denominators prior to adopting this change to ensure that it will not result in unfair comparisons across providers based on markets they serve rather than the quality of care.