Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Spotlights & Announcements
Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Spotlights & Announcements
Updates
April 11, 2025
Long Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment system (PPS) and Updates to the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) for FY 2026 LTCH PPS Proposed Rule (CMS-1833-P).
On April 11, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule (CMS-1833-P) that provides updates to the fiscal year (FY) Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program (LTCH QRP). In this proposed rule, CMS is proposing the removal of the COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date vaccine item (O0350) from the LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) as it pertains to patients who expire in an LTCH and four assessment items in the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) category: one item for Living Situation, two items for Food, and one item for Utilities. CMS is also proposing to amend the LTCH QRP reconsideration policy and process. Finally, CMS is seeking feedback with three Requests for Information (RFI) including future quality measure concepts for the LTCH QRP; potential revisions to the data submission deadlines for assessment data collected for the LTCH QRP; and advancing digital quality measurement in LTCHs.
The proposed rule went on display at the Federal Register and will be available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection
March 26, 2025
Public Reporting March 2025 Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available
The March 2025 refresh of the LTCH QRP data is now available on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).
For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.
March 14, 2025
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 the compare tool on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the June 2025 refresh.
For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.
January 15, 2025
NOW AVAILABLE: Frequently Asked Questions Document and Methodology Report for the Screen Positive for Health-Related Social Needs Indicator Confidential Feedback Report (available in HH, IRF, and LTCH)
CMS has released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Document and Methodology Report to answer key questions and provide methodological information about the Screen Positive for Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) Indicator Confidential Feedback Report.1 To access these and other materials relating to the Screen Positive for HRSN Indicator report, please go to the following Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Program Training & Education webpages:
- Home Health Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage
- Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Training & Education webpage
1 CMS released the initial Screen Positive for HRSN Indicator report to Home Health, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility, and Long-Term Care Hospital providers in October 2024. CMS plans to release this report to Skilled Nursing Facility providers beginning in October 2025, when a full Fiscal Year of data (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025) will become available for the first time.
December 18, 2024
Public Reporting December 2024 Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available
The December 2024 refresh of the LTCH QRP data is now available on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).
For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting webpage.
December 16, 2024
CMS LCDS Quarterly Q&As, December 2024, Consolidated September 2020 to December 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 December of 2024. The document contains the consolidated Q&As from September 2020 to December 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.
December 16, 2024
LTCH Provider Preview Reports – Now Available
The 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 the compare tool on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the March 2025 refresh.
October 15, 2024
NOW AVAILABLE: Screen Positive for Health-Related Social Needs Indicator Confidential Feedback Report for HH, IRF, and LTCH with Educational Webinar and Fact Sheet
On October 15, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the new Screen Positive for Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) Indicator Confidential Feedback Report to Home Health (HH), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF), and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH).1 This report presents summary information for your patient population on four HRSN data elements: Health Literacy, Need for Interpreter Services, Social Isolation, and Transportation. Results for this initial report are calculated using data from October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024, and will be updated quarterly based on the most recent 12 months of available data. This report is provider-generated in the Internet Quality Improvement & Evaluation System (iQIES).
To support providers in accessing and understanding this new report, CMS has released an educational webinar recording and the related webinar slides and transcript. We also released a fact sheet that provides an overview of the Screen Positive for HRSN Indicator Confidential Feedback Report. For information on how to generate your report and to access the webinar recording video and related slides, transcript, and fact sheet, please go to the following Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Program Training & Education pages:
- Home Health Quality Reporting Training & Education Webpage
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Quality Reporting Training & Education Webpage
- Long Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Training & Education Webpage
1 CMS plans to release this report to Skilled Nursing Facility providers in October 2025, when a full Fiscal Year of data (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025) will become available for the first time.
September 25, 2024
Public Reporting September Refresh of LTCH QRP Data – Now Available
The September 2024 refresh of the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data is now available on Medicare.gov and Provider Data Catalog (PDC).
For more information, please visit the LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.
September 16, 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 Medicare.gov and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the December 2024 refresh.
For more information, please visit the CMS LTCH QRP Public Reporting website.
September 4, 2024
UPDATED RESOURCE AVAILABLE: From Data Elements to Quality Measures Cross-Setting Web-Based Training
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering an updated web-based training course that provides a high-level overview of how data elements are used to construct quality measures used across post-acute care settings.
This resource can be accessed through the LTCH QRP Training page.
September 3, 2024
LTCH QRP FAQs for FY 2025
An update to the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document is now available. This document has been updated to reflect the finalized policies for the LTCH QRP in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 and includes other useful resources available to providers.
The FAQ document can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH Quality Reporting FAQs webpage.
September 3, 2024
LTCH QRP Data Elements Used for Reporting Assessment-Based QMs and Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements Affecting FY 2027 APU Determination and Data Collection and Final Submission Deadlines for FY 2027 posted
The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Overview of Data Elements Used for Reporting Assessment-Based Quality Measures and Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements Affecting Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Annual Payment Update (APU) Determination table and the LTCH QRP Data Collection and Final Submission Deadlines for the FY 2027 LTCH QRP are now available.
The FY 2027 LTCH QRP APU Table can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH QRP Measures Information webpage. The FY 2027 LTCH QRP Data Collection and Final Submission Deadlines can be accessed via the Downloads section of the LTCH QRP Data Submission Deadlines webpage.
August 30, 2024
LTCH QRP Quality Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual V6.0, Change Table, Risk Adjustment Appendix File, and Imputation Appendix File – Now Available
The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Quality Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual Version 6.0 and accompanying documents are now available. These documents serve as an update to the specifications used to calculate quality measures that are included in the LTCH QRP effective October 1, 2024.
These files can be found in the Downloads section of the CMS LTCH QRP Quality Reporting Measures Information webpage.
August 26, 2024
UPDATED RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Section GG Web-Based Training Series
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering an updated series of web-based training courses that provide an overview of the assessment and Section GG guidance found in the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) Manual Version 5.1 to promote accurate coding of the post-acute care (PAC) cross-setting data elements.
This resource can be accessed through the LTCH QRP Training page.
August 26, 2024
LCDS Version 5.2 Item Sets posted
The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (Care) Data Set (LCDS) Version 5.2 item sets are now available.
The LCDS 5.2 Item Sets can be accessed via the Downloads section of the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) and LCDS Manual webpage.
August 1, 2024
IPPS/LTCH PPS for FY 2025; and Updates to the LTCH QRP (CMS-1808-F)
On August 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (CMS-1808-F) that finalizes updates to the fiscal year (FY) 2028 Long-Term Care Hospital Quality Reporting Program (LTCH QRP) including requiring LTCH’s to collect and submit through the LTCH Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS) four new assessment items in the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) category: one item for Living Situation, two items for Food, and one item for Utilities. CMS is also modifying the current Transportation item and extending the three-day assessment window to a four-day assessment window. Finally, CMS is summarizing the feedback received on 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 Medicare.gov.
The final rule went on display at the Federal Register and will be available at: Federal Register
July 24, 2024
NEW RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Patient Mood Interview (Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-2 to 9©) Video Tutorial
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a video tutorial for completing D0150, Patient Mood Interview (PHQ-2 to 9) and D0160, Total Severity Score. Within the video, the PHQ-2 to 9 assessment and related coding is demonstrated using excerpts from two patient interviews.
This resource can be accessed through the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Training page.
July 19, 2024
NEW RESOURCE AVAILABLE: What You Need to Know: PAC QRP Key Program Updates – FY/CY 2025 Web-Based Training
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training course that provides an overview of key updates to the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.
This resource can be accessed through the LTCH QRP Training page.
Page Last Modified:
04/22/2025 04:06 PM