Costs & IRMAA
CMS Releases Nursing Home Quality Scores That Set Medicare Bonuses and Penalties Starting October 1
Fiscal year 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing performance reports are now available, with the program expanded from four to eight quality measures and a payment multiplier taking effect when the new federal fiscal year begins.
By the Goodsurance editorial teamAugust 1, 2026
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released fiscal year 2027 performance score reports for the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program this week, according to the agency's Medicare Learning Network newsletter for August 6, 2026.
The reports, distributed through the iQIES data portal, show each nursing home its performance score and the incentive payment multiplier that CMS will apply to Medicare Part A claims beginning October 1, 2026. Facilities whose scores clear certain thresholds receive a modest bonus above the base Medicare payment rate; those that fall below receive a corresponding reduction.
CMS released nursing home quality scores this week that set Medicare pay adjustments starting October 1, now grading facilities on eight measures instead of four.
For fiscal year 2027, the program evaluates performance on eight quality measures, expanded from the four used through fiscal year 2026. The prior set covered the 30-day all-cause readmission rate, healthcare-associated infections requiring hospitalization, total nursing staff turnover, and total nurse staffing hours per resident day. Four additional measures broaden the dimensions of quality that now affect a facility's Medicare reimbursement rate.
Facilities had until August 30, 2026, to review their reports and submit corrections if they believed underlying data contained errors.
The SNF VBP program is one of several CMS quality-incentive systems that link Medicare payment rates to measurable care performance across post-acute settings. Higher-performing nursing homes receive a small premium above the base rate; lower-performing ones receive a small reduction, with the aggregate adjustment designed to be budget-neutral across all SNF Medicare payments.
In plain words
The government grades nursing homes on how well they care for patients, and those grades affect how much Medicare pays them. This week, nursing homes got their quality scores for the period starting October 1, 2026. Starting this year, nursing homes are graded on eight things instead of four. The four older measures covered things like hospital readmissions, infections, staff turnover, and nursing hours per day. Four more measures were added this year. A nursing home with good scores gets paid a little more per Medicare stay. One with poor scores gets paid a little less. Facilities had until August 30 to correct any errors in their scores. If you or a family member is in a nursing home, these scores are public and show how the facility compares to others.
Understand the basics first
Source: CMS
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