Inpatient psychiatric facilities rule would increase payments by 2.4%

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services April 11 issued a proposed rule for the inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system for fiscal year 2026.  
 
CMS proposes to increase IPF payments by a net 2.4%, equivalent to $70 million, in FY 2026. The payment update reflects a proposed market-basket update of 3.2% minus a productivity adjustment of 0.8 percentage points. CMS also proposes to update the outlier threshold so that estimated outlier payments remain at 2.0% of total payments. In addition, the agency would increase the adjustment factors for IPFs with teaching status and rural location and recognize increases to IPF teaching caps as required by law.  
 
For the IPF Quality Reporting Program, CMS proposes to remove four structural measures and revise the reporting period for its emergency department visit following the IPF discharge measure. The rule also includes requests for information on a potential star rating system for IPFs, nutrition and well-being measures for the IPFQRP, and the use of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standards for reporting patient assessment data.   
 
In addition, CMS has included in the rule its previously published request for information seeking input on opportunities to streamline regulations and reduce burdens on providers.  
 
For more details, see the CMS fact sheet. CMS will accept comments on this rule through June 10.