Hospice HOPE Tool Implementation Kicks Off Oct. 1st
(Sept. 30, 2025) Please note the following concerns raised by LeadingAge National on implementation of the Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool.
Medicare-certified hospices will start collecting data on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) HOPE tool beginning Oct. 1, 2025 (Fiscal Year (FY) 2026). Please be aware of the many resources (here and here) provided by LeadingAge National as well as recent clarifications on the tool.
- Clarifications on Traveling Patients. LeadingAge members who are home and host hospices for patients with multiple residences or who travel throughout the year are advised to pay careful attention to the new HOPE tool expectations and understand the tool’s applications. Read more here.
- Symptom Follow-Up Visits During Inclement Weather and Disasters. LeadingAge National provides insights into CMS’s expectations regarding the HOPE tool’s Symptom Follow-Up Visit element should hospice providers experience inclement weather and possible emergency declarations. Read more here.
- Shutdown Impact on iQIES. The Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) is the new data reporting system that hospices will use for HOPE. With the potential shutdown of the federal government, there is concern that assistance with this platform for reporters will be compromised.
CMS Updates Training on Achieving a Full Annual Payment Update. CMS released a recorded presentation that provides the latest information about the Annual Payment Update (APU) for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP), including what it is, the data submission requirements for HOPE and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) data, how CMS determines HQRP compliance, and the steps hospices can take if they receive a non-compliance decision. As a reminder, if hospices do not submit 90% of their HOPE records within 30 days of completing the records, they risk a 4% APU reduction for Calendar Year (CY) 2027.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871