On June 20, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated version of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Quality Measure (QM) Specifications Users Manual V1.03. This QM Manual contains instructions to calculate all HQRP measures, including the HOPE-based quality measures.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted a June 24, 2025 presentation (which was not delivered live) to their website providing additional details to hospice providers and technology vendors on the implementation of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation tool, or HOPE. Of note, CMS called out a new Errata V1.00.2 available in the downloads section for the final Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) data submission specifications (V1.00.1) which vendors will need to update their current systems to align with recent changes to the HOPE manual. The slide deck provides timeline updates for the transition to iQIES and the anticipated availability of the VUT. It also includes iQIES training tutorials to prepare hospices for the implementation of HOPE.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released in April an updated Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) manual. We summarize changes to several key items and provide highlights on guidance updates: find them here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) Guidance Manual and accompanying Change Table. There are a number of clarifications on HOPE Update Visits (HUV) and Symptom Follow Up Visits (SFV) which are not conducted within the expected timelines. Read more and find links to materials here.

The final Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) data submission specifications (V1.00.1) are now available in the downloads section of the HOPE Technical Information webpage. This final version of the specifications will go into effect on October 1, 2025. Get the details here.

LeadingAge’s summary of the proposed FY2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Requirements released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services April 11 provides members with a broad overview of the proposed rule, including aspects that pertain to the HOPE tool. Read more here.

Materials and a recording from the December 12, 2024, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Forum, which provided an overview of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool and more, are now available. Click here for more information.

On November 21, 2 p.m. ET, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a Hospice Technical Informational Call for Software Vendors and Developers. Members are strongly encouraged to make sure their software vendor is participating in the call and request an update from the vendor on their progress to support implementation. For more information and registration details, see this.

As providers prepare for the October 1, 2025 implementation date for the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released two new resources: a 30-minute, self-paced online “Train-the-Trainer” program, and the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Quality Measure Specifications User’s Manual chapter for HOPE Process Measures. See our bulletin for more details.

If you are planning to attend the 2024 LeadingAge Annual Meeting, October 27-30 in Nashville, session 134-K on October 30 will offer a deep dive on the HOPE Tool. That session is part of a dedicated program of special events and sessions curated for hospice providers.

Medicare-certified hospices will start collecting data on the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) beginning on October 1, 2025 (FY 2026). It’s time to start training staff on the key elements of this data collection tool which will now be required for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). Access our crosswalk of the new tool and links to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) explainer video here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 16 released final materials for its Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) assessment tool that CMS finalized to start October 1, 2025. Read more here.

Included in the final FY2025 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Requirements, released on the Federal Register public inspection site July 30, are finalized provisions to implement the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool. Read more here.

This Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 proposed hospice wage index rule contains the proposal to implement the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool, a long-awaited standardized patient level data collection tool that CMS proposes to start on or after October 2025. Read our analysis here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS)Fiscal Year 2025 Hospice Wage Index proposed rule, released March 28, contains the proposal to implement the standardized patient assessment – the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool. Read more here.

Included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Measures Under Consideration list, released December 1, are two new process measures for hospices based on the yet-to-be-released HOPE tool. Read more here.