August 1, 2025 Washington, DC — Statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) release of Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Final Rule for FY2026:

“The finalized 3.2% Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) payment update for skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in FY 2026 reflects modest recognition of the need for support in the form of fair payment for the care providers’ deliver, but still falls short of what is needed to meet the growing financial and workforce pressures facing providers, including our nonprofit, mission-driven members. While we recognize that payment updates are based on past spending, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) must also acknowledge the financial realities of the current market. In addition to having to manage costs resulting from regulatory requirements, such as enhanced barrier precautions, implemented in March 2024, which will require increased use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in FY 2026 and beyond, increasing labor costs, and broader economic shifts are placing immediate and significant strain on nursing home operations. These factors impact providers now—and policies must evolve to reflect this urgency.

We are pleased to see that CMS finalized the following proposals:

• The removal of select social determinants of health (SDOH) data elements from the SNF Quality Reporting Program, which we previously opposed as misaligned with the SNF setting and unnecessarily burdensome;
• Changes to the SNF Quality Reporting Program reconsideration request policy, which bring helpful clarity and consistency to the process;
• A new SNF Value Based Purchasing program appeals policy on reconsideration requests, allowing a SNF to appeal a decision made on a Review and Correct reconsideration request prior to any data being made publicly available.

We remain committed to working with CMS to ensure that policy updates are fair, feasible, and grounded in the realities of providing person-centered care to older adults in skilled nursing settings.”