Changes included in the 2025 home health final rule were well worth headlines, particularly payment shifts and new Conditions of Participation. But flying under the radar is an important change for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program expected in future rulemaking.
“Based on feedback from patients and stakeholders, CMS has launched an effort to update and shorten the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) survey. In 2022, CMS tested a shortened survey across a variety of different types of agencies,” CMS notes roughly halfway through the 316 pages of the rule. “We reviewed the findings of the field test and plan to finalize in the future updates to the survey with the intent to shorten it.”
Potential updated HHCAHPS measures have been submitted through the pre-rulemaking review process, CMS notes.
This summer, CMS finalized a shorter version of the CAHPS Hospice Survey with fewer questions beginning with decedents in April 2025. The hospice update included a web-mail option, but a web version may not be among priorities for the HHCAHPS update.