Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, CMS plans to add all non-Medicare and non-Medicaid patients when calculating an agency’s OASIS submission rate for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program Annual Payment Update.
Currently, only OASIS data from Medicare and Medicaid payors are included in the APU calculation. Agencies that fail to meet the 90% threshold for submission of OASIS data face a reduction in the annual payment update of two percentage points.
In a message to providers July 6, 2026, CMS noted that the change will be effective with new patients receiving home health services on or after Jan. 1, 2027. If the M0090 (Date assessment completed) for the Start of Care is before Jan. 1, 2027, for a non-Medicare or non-Medicaid patient, no OASIS data from any of their time points throughout their entire home health admission will be used for APU purposes. This includes any assessments after Jan. 1, 2027.