The FFY 2027 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule has been published by CMS, The Rule establishes payment rates and policy updates effective October 1, 2026.
- CMS finalized a 2.3% payment update for FY 2027, slightly below the 2.4% update proposed and down from the 2.6% update finalized for FY 2026. The rate reflects updated market basket and productivity estimates.
- Beginning October 1, CMS requires all required therapy treatments and/or therapy evaluations to begin no later than 36 hours from midnight on the day of admission. The final rule clarifies that this requirement applies to all required therapy disciplines, not just one therapy service.
- Finalized is a revision that requires the initial Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) meeting to occur on or before four days from the date of admission, aligning the meeting timeframe with the patient's Plan of Care requirements.
Providers should review care planning workflows and documentation to ensure they align with the finalized regulation. - Updates to the IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP), including revised data submission deadlines beginning with the FY 2029 IRF QRP and additional refinements to future quality reporting requirements were finalized.
- The final rule completes the third and final year of CMS's phase-out of the rural adjustment for IRFs affected by the revised Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) classifications first implemented in FY 2025.
- CMS did not finalize its proposal to require documentation of a patient's current functional status in the preadmission screening.
The Rehabilitation Final Rule: IRF Final Rule
