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2026 HHCAHPS Survey Training Materials Have Been Posted
TrainingPosted January 21, 2026

The slides for the self-paced 2026 Introduction to the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey training and the HHCAHPS Survey Vendor Update Webinar training are now posted under the “Training” menu of the HHCAHPS website. As a reminder, all organizations must register to access the Introduction to HHCAHPS Survey training certification (for vendors applying to become an approved vendor) and/or to attend the Update Training (for vendors already approved), at this link by 12:00 PM ET on Wednesday, January 28, 2026: HHCAHPS Training Registration Form

In addition, we have posted the following materials to the Survey and Protocols page and Data Submission Resources page of the HHCAHPS website:

HHCAHPS Survey Protocols and Guidelines Manual, Version 18.0;
HHCAHPS Survey Website User and Data Submission Manual, Version 14.0;
Revised standard version of mail questionnaire and standard and proxy telephone scripts in all applicable languages, for use starting with the April 2026 sample month*;
Revised standard and disproportionate stratified random sampling (DSRS) versions of XML data file layouts, for use starting with the April 2026 sample month*;
Revised FAQs for Telephone Interviewers, Sample File Layout, FAQs for Rolling Out Updated Survey, Crosswalk between the original and updated survey, Crosswalk of publicly reported measures, and Crosswalk of standard XML data file layout;
General Guidelines for Telephone Interviewers, Vendor Application PDF, Exceptions Request Form PDF, and Discrepancy Notification Report PDF, with updated release date in the header/footer and no content changes; and
New Interviewer Monitoring Form.

* Pending OMB approval.

If you have questions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

Public Reporting Results Refreshed on Care Compare; Archived Publicly Reported Data Available on HHCAHPS Website
Public ReportingPosted January 14, 2026

Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey results based on responses from patients who received home health care from Medicare-certified home health agencies (HHAs) from July 2024 through June 2025 are now reported on Medicare’s compare tool at https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/. HHCAHPS Survey results are updated each calendar year quarter.

These data are also available on the HHCAHPS website through the Archived Publicly Reported Data link under the “General Information” tab. On this webpage, you can access

HHA-level data,
state and national averages,
star ratings cut points,
patient mix adjustment coefficients for the linearized data used to construct the star ratings, and
patient mix adjustment factors.

As a reminder, information on how the star ratings were constructed is provided in these Technical Notes.

Select this link for more information about how the data were analyzed and for the patient-mix adjustment factors that were used to statistically adjust the results that are currently being publicly reported on CMS’ Compare website.

RTI International will be closed January 19, 2026
Other AnnouncementsPosted January 13, 2026

RTI International will be closed Monday, January 19, 2026, for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.

If you have questions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

CY2025 Quarter 3 Data Submission Deadline Reminder: One Week Left
Data SubmissionsPosted January 8, 2026

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, January 15, 2026. We are now one week away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 3 of calendar year 2025 (CY25, Q3).

We thank those HHCAHPS vendors who have already begun submitting CY25,Q3 data for their HHA clients. If you have not submitted any data for Quarter 3, we encourage you to begin submitting your files as soon as possible.

Important Points to Remember:

To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on January 15, 2026, you must submit all Quarter 3 files on or before Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
- Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
Data files must pass both the initial and the secondary validation checks.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
- For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

If you have any questions or need help with data submissions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review (CTQR) Newsletter – January 2026 Edition
Other AnnouncementsPosted January 5, 2026

The next issue of the HHCAHPS Coordination Team Quarterly Review (CTQR) newsletter has been posted. This edition provides information about HHCAHPS to home health agencies and survey vendors.

This quarter’s issue includes:

Important dates and reminders for HHAs.
Overview of the January HHCAHPS 2026 Update and Introduction Vendor Training sessions, including a registration link.
- Note: Only survey vendors have training requirements; HHAs are welcome but not required to attend.
Spotlight on how HHAs can help to improve HHCAHPS Survey response rates.

CTQR newsletters are posted on the HHCAHPS website and updated quarterly every calendar year. You can navigate to the January 2026 newsletter located under the General Information tab on the HHCAHPS website or click this link: CTQR Newsletter - January 2026.

The CTQR does not replace any source of information currently on the HHCAHPS website; instead, it highlights important information for readers each quarter. We encourage you to visit the HHCAHPS website for more information on the items mentioned in this newsletter.

If you have questions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

CY2025 Qtr. 3 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
Data SubmissionsPosted December 31, 2025

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, January 15, 2026. We are now approximately 2 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 3 of calendar year 2025 (CY25,Q3).

Important Points to Remember:

To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on January 15, 2026, you must submit all Quarter 3 files on or before Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
- Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
Data files must pass both the initial validation checks and the secondary validation checks.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
- For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

If you have any questions or need help with data submissions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

CY25 Qtr. 3 Data Submission Deadline Reminder
Data SubmissionsPosted December 18, 2025

The next data submission deadline is Thursday, January 15, 2026. We are now approximately 4 weeks away from the deadline for submitting HHCAHPS Survey data for Quarter 3 of calendar year 2025 (CY25,Q3).

Important Points to Remember:

To ensure that files can be accepted by the deadline at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on January 15, 2026, you must submit all of your Quarter 3 files on or before Wednesday, January 14, 2026.
- Since CMS will not accept any files after the data submission deadline, make sure you check your data submission reports to verify that all of your submitted files were accepted. And, correct and re-submit all files before the data submission deadline.
Data files must pass both the initial and the secondary validation checks.
You must still submit an XML data file for an HHA even if their monthly patient information file does not have any patients eligible to be sampled.
- For each sample month an HHA has no eligible patients, please remember to request an email from them documenting that they had no eligible patients or have them submit a blank monthly patient information file, so that you can submit a 0-eligible file for that month.
Please remember to submit a DNR for any HHAs that do not send you a file.
Check your Vendor Authorization Report to make sure that each HHA client has authorized your organization to submit data on their behalf.

If you have questions, contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

RTI International will be closed December 25 & 26, 2025, and January 1 & 2, 2026
Other AnnouncementsPosted December 18, 2025

RTI International and the HHCAHPS Help Desk will be closed on the following days for the holidays:

Thursday, December 25, 2025
Friday, December 26, 2025
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Friday, January 2, 2026

The HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries received during that time beginning the Monday after each holiday.

Vendors with questions should contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

HHCAHPS Preview Reports with Star Ratings Available
Information for Home Health AgenciesPosted December 11, 2025

Preview Reports reflecting results from the Home Health Care CAHPS (HHCAHPS) Survey from July 2024 through June 2025 (Q3,2024-Q2,2025) are now available on https://homehealthcahps.org via the "Survey Preview Report” link under the “For HHAs” tab. Home health agency (HHA) users must be logged into the website to view their report. These same data will be updated on Medicare’s care compare tool on https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/ in late January 2026.

The Preview Reports present the publicly reported results, which also include star ratings for those agencies with data for 40 or more patient surveys in the 4-quarter reporting period.

For more information about the Preview Reports, please refer to this document on the HHCAHPS website: Understanding the HHCAHPS Survey Preview Reports

For more information about HHCAHPS star ratings, including Frequently Asked Questions, please refer to this document on the HHCAHPS website: Star Ratings Information

If you have any questions about the HHCAHPS star ratings or your HHCAHPS Preview Report, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

Notice of Publication of the Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2026
Information for Home Health AgenciesPosted December 2, 2025

The Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update Final Rule for Calendar Year 2026 was published in the Federal Register on December 2, 2025. The HH PPS CY2026 Final Rule is available on the HHCAHPS website at the link below.

HH PPS CY2026 Final Rule

If you have questions, please contact the HHCAHPS Survey Coordination Team via email at hhcahps@rti.org or call toll-free at (866) 354-0985.

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