CAHPS Insider: June 2026

CMS News

Reporting Exceptions for Natural Disasters

CMS has issued extraordinary circumstance exceptions (ECEs) for providers affected by recent natural disasters in Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands, recognizing the operational challenges caused by severe weather events and federal disaster declarations. These exceptions apply across multiple quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs and may impact reporting requirements, submission timelines, and how data is used for scoring and public reporting.

Affected organizations should review the applicable exceptions and determine whether additional action is needed, including whether to submit data or request further consideration based on their specific circumstances.

Additional information is available here.

HCAHPS

Preview Reports

CMS has released preview reports for the July 2026 Care Compare refresh, giving hospitals an opportunity to review their data before it becomes publicly available.

The preview window is open through June 20, 2026, in the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) system and reflects the data that will appear on Care Compare and the CMS Provider Data Catalog.

Organizations should use this preview period to carefully review their data for accuracy and escalate any questions through QualityNet before public reporting.

Public Reporting Refresh

HCAHPS results based on data from Q3 2024 – Q2 2025 (July 2024 – June 2025) discharges have been published. These results are available on the Provider Data Catalog and Care Compare.

Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings have also been updated in publicly reported data.

OAS CAHPS

Public Reporting Refresh

CMS has released updated OAS CAHPS results based on patient experiences from Q3 2024 – Q2 2025 (July 2024 – June 2025). These results are now available on the Provider Data Catalog for both ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), with HOPD results also reflected on Care Compare.

OAS CAHPS results are available at the facility, state, and national levels and are updated quarterly.

Updates to Participation Requirements

CMS announced immediate updates to participation requirements, with formal documentation to be included in a future version of the OAS CAHPS Protocols and Guidelines Manual.

• Indian Health Services (IHS) hospitals are no longer required to participate, though they may choose to do so voluntarily.
• PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospitals are not eligible to participate and can no longer register for OAS CAHPS.

Organizations should confirm whether any of their facilities are impacted and ensure their sampling, registration, and internal documentation processes reflect these updated requirements.

CAHPS for MIPS

PY 2026 Fielding Schedule

CMS has released the 2026 CAHPS for MIPS fielding schedule, with key deadlines approaching. Clinician groups must register to participate by June 30, 2026. SSP ACOs are automatically registered.

All participants must authorize a survey vendor each year, even if they have participated before. The 2026 vendor authorization deadline is September 9, 2026. CMS will notify participants when the authorization window opens and provide instructions, and NRC Health will share a reminder as well.

PY 2026 CAHPS for MIPS Survey	Date
Registration deadline for groups (SSP ACOs are automatically registered)	6/30/2026
All participants authorize an approved survey vendor	9/9/2026
Data collection	10/14/2026 – 1/7/2027
Mail prenotification letter	10/14/2026
Mail 1st questionnaire	10/20/2026
Mail 2nd questionnaire	11/6/2026
Telephone follow-up	11/27/2026 – 1/7/2027
Interim data submission deadline	12/4/2026
Final data submission deadline	1/15/2027

ACO REACH

PY 2026 Vendor Authorization and Fielding Schedule

The vendor authorization period for ACO REACH CAHPS opened on June 1, 2026 and runs through July 27, 2026. All REACH ACOs are required to authorize a survey vendor each year, even if they have participated in previous years.

The 2026 fielding schedule is as follows:

PY 2026 ACO REACH CAHPS Survey	Date
REACH ACOs authorize an approved survey vendor	6/1 – 7/27/2026
Data collection	9/8 – 12/4/2026
Mail 1st questionnaire	9/8/2026
Mail reminder/thank you postcard	9/28/2026
Mail 2nd questionnaire	10/13/2026
Telephone follow-up	11/9 – 12/4/2026
1st interim data submission deadline	10/5/2026
2nd interim data submission deadline	11/23/2026
Final data submission deadline	1/19/2027

PY 2025 Results

CMS will distribute the PY 2025 Annual Quality Reports to ACOs in approximately August 2026 via the 4i portal. The report includes information on all Model quality measures in 2025, including CAHPS. The CAHPS portion of the Annual Quality Report will contain the ACO’s de-identified individual survey results on all domains and all questions, as well as results at the overall ACO REACH CAHPS level.

Waiting Room FAQs

To help encourage participation and provide clarity for patients, CMS has released ACO REACH CAHPS waiting room FAQs. ACOs are encouraged to print these materials and make them available to patients. FAQs are available in both English and Spanish.

External Submission Deadlines

	Q3 2025 Discharges	Q4 2025 Discharges	Q1 2026 Discharges	Q2 2026 Discharges
HCAHPS	1/14/2026	4/8/2026	7/8/2026	10/9/2026
Premier	1/23/2026	4/17/2026	7/24/2026	10/30/2026
Vizient	1/23/2026	4/17/2026	7/17/2026	10/23/2026
HHCAHPS	1/15/2026	4/16/2026	7/16/2026	10/15/2026
CAHPS Hospice	2/11/2026	5/13/2026	8/12/2026	11/11/2026
OAS CAHPS	1/14/2026	4/8/2026	7/8/2026	10/9/2026
ICH CAHPS	1/28/2026 (Fall 2025)		7/29/2026 (Spring 2026)
ACO REACH		1/19/2027 (2026)
CAHPS for MIPS		1/15/2027 (2026)
				*Activity COMPLETE

If you have any questions regarding the information included in this edition of the CAHPS Insider, please contact NRC Health CAHPS Compliance at [email protected].