CMS has released the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for Fiscal Year 2027.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. These reports give providers an early opportunity to review CMS-calculated measure results, identify potential calculation concerns, and prepare for upcoming value-based payment determinations tied to quality outcomes.
The FY 2027 SNF VBP Program reflects a major evolution in CMS’s quality measurement strategy, expanding from four measures to eight. This broader framework strengthens the program’s focus on clinical outcomes, functional improvement, staffing stability, and resident safety.
The FY 2027 program evaluates performance across the following eight measures:
- SNF 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure
- SNF Healthcare-Associated Infections Requiring Hospitalization
- Discharge to Community
- Long-Stay Hospitalization
- Nursing Staff Turnover
- Total Nursing Hours per Resident Day
- Discharge Function Score
- Long-Stay Falls with Major Injury
Together, these measures provide a more comprehensive view of facility performance across quality, safety, and workforce domains.
These measure results will inform FY 2027 SNF VBP scoring, which is used to determine incentive payment adjustments applied during the corresponding Medicare fiscal payment period beginning October 1, 2026.
Performance Score Reports and incentive payment multipliers for the FY 2027 SNF VBP program are typically released in the late summer prior to the start of the fiscal payment year, allowing providers time to review results before payment adjustments take effect.
This timeline underscores the importance of early preparation, as performance outcomes directly influence Medicare reimbursement under the SNF VBP program.
How to Access Your FY 2027 Report
Providers can access their confidential feedback reports through the iQIES portal using the following steps:
- Log into iQIES using your HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) credentials
- Navigate to the Reports menu and select My Reports
- Open the MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports folder
- Locate the SNF VBP Quarterly Confidential Feedback Report
- Select More to download the report directly
The confidential feedback reports serve as a critical tool for quality improvement and financial planning. Skilled nursing providers can apply these insights to:
- Validate CMS-calculated performance data
- Identify trends impacting quality outcomes
- Assess staffing and clinical performance relationships
- Prepare interdisciplinary teams for upcoming payment implications
- Support targeted quality improvement initiatives
Given the expansion to eight measures, early review is especially important for understanding performance across both clinical and workforce domains. Facilities are provided with a 30-day review period following the release of confidential feedback reports to evaluate their results and determine whether any discrepancies exist.
It is important to understand that the SNF VBP review and correction process is limited in scope. Facilities may submit a correction request if they identify a potential error in the calculation of a measure or in the reporting of the results. However, this review period is not intended to allow providers to revise or correct the underlying source data used in the calculations, such as MDS assessments, Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ)submissions, Medicare claims, or other source records.
In other words, if a measure was calculated incorrectly based on the data available to CMS, a correction request may be appropriate. However, if the concern involves inaccurate source data that was previously submitted, such as MDS, PBJ, or claims data, that data cannot be modified through the SNF VBP review and correction process. Requests for review must be submitted to the CMS SNF VBP Help Desk within the designated review period. For the June 2026 reports, CMS states that correction requests must be submitted byJuly 1, 2026.
Correction requests should be sent to SNFVBPquestions@cms.hhs.gov withthe subject line: SNF VBP Review and Correction Inquiry.
As CMS continues to evolve value-based purchasing programs, skilled nursing providers are increasingly expected to align clinical outcomes with operational performance. The expansion to eight measures reinforces the importance of a coordinated, data-driven approach to quality improvement.
With payment implications tied closely to performance, now is the time for providers to carefully review their results, engage interdisciplinary teams, and proactively address opportunities for improvement ahead of the upcoming fiscal cycle.
