In the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements issued July 30, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) deviated very little from its proposed rule released in April.

“The final rule’s 2.3% payment update, a reduction from the initial proposal, falls short of what providers, including our mission-driven and nonprofit members, need to keep pace with rising costs. Reimbursement that fails to cover the true cost of delivering care and services puts providers’ ability to serve those in need at risk and creates a threat to care access,” said LeadingAge’s Mollie Gurian, vice president, policy and government affairs, in a press statement.

While the agency provides extensive comments on the hospice Service and Spending Variation Index (SSVI), it declined to make any changes to the proposed methodology and finalized the tool as proposed.

Additionally, CMS finalized the requirement that hospices must provide an addendum for all hospice enrollments, not simply when the patient asks for an addendum.

As explained in our June 1  comments to the agency, LeadingAge believes this requirement is unnecessary and duplicative and would increase administrative burden, confuse families, and divert resources away from direct care.

One of the rule’s encouraging elements: CMS also finalized its proposal to add an icon to Care Compare for hospices who do not submit the required quality data. This additional transparency will help patients and families make more informed choices regarding their care.

CMS’s press statement is here and the link to the text of the rule is here.

Look for more analysis in the coming days.