HOPE Updates & Version Changes

This page complements HOPE in Practice and HOPE in Action by providing real-time updates to CMS’s Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool. Bookmark this page as your central hub for staying up to date on guidance manual versions, change tables, and implementation updates. This page was last reviewed and updated on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Table of Contents

Current HOPE Version

Current Version: v1.02 (Effective October 1, 2025)

Most Recent Change: Version 1.02 clarified that LPNs/LVNs may complete Symptom Follow-up Visits (SFVs) under RN supervision, resolving field confusion about delegation practices. No other substantive changes were made.

Download v1.01 to v1.02 Change Table

For survey-related implications of HOPE data and HQRP, see the Hospice CoP updates page.

Version Change Archive

Version	Release Date	Key Changes	CMS Change Table
v1.02	October 1, 2025	LPN/LVN SFV clarification	Download PDF
v1.01	April 22, 2025	Multiple item clarifications, HUV/SFV timepoint guidance	Download PDF
v1.00	October 1, 2025	Initial HOPE implementation	N/A

Plain-Language Update Summaries

Version 1.02 (October 1, 2025)

What Changed:

Clarified that LPNs/LVNs may complete SFVs under RN supervision
Minor wording adjustment to J2053 item instructions for consistency

What This Means for You:
If your agency already allowed LPNs to conduct SFVs with RN oversight, you were compliant all along. If you restricted SFVs to RN-only, you now have the flexibility to delegate appropriately.

Action Needed?
Optional. Review your delegation policy. If you choose to utilize LPNs for SFVs, update your policy manual and train staff on supervision requirements.

Version 1.01 (April 22, 2025)

What Changed:

Clarified HUV and SFV timepoint windows
Added coding examples for several items (A0810, J0910, J2051)
Refined compliance criteria language
Updated submission correction policies

What This Means for You:
Most changes were clarifications of existing guidance, not new requirements. The added examples help with consistent coding across your team.

Action Needed?
Recommended. Review the change table and share relevant examples with your assessment staff during your next team meeting.

Key Transition Dates in 2026 and Beyond

October 1, 2025: HOPE data collection officially began, replacing the HIS. All new admissions on or after this date must submit HOPE records through iQIES.
February 15, 2026: Final deadline for submitting or correcting any remaining HIS records in QIES. HIS data submissions and corrections will not be accepted after this date.
February 16, 2026: CMS will no longer accept HIS records. User-requested Hospice Final Validation Reports (FVRs) will no longer be available in CASPER (QIES). Providers needing FVRs or other reports after this date must request them through iQIES.
February 23, 2026: The Hospice Review and Correct report will no longer be available in CASPER. Review and Correct reports will be available in iQIES, supporting both HIS data and HOPE data with measure results for complete stays beginning with FY 2024 (10/01/2023) forward.
March 15, 2026: Hospice Quality Measure (QM) reports will no longer be available in CASPER. Providers must request QM reports from iQIES. The iQIES QM reports will support HIS data with measure results for complete stays beginning FY 2024 (10/01/2023) forward and HOPE data beginning FY 2026 (10/01/2025) forward.
May 15, 2026: Data correction deadline for Q4 2025 HIS records (target dates 10/01/25–12/31/25) for public reporting purposes.
January–December 2026: Calendar Year 2026 is the first full HOPE performance year. HOPE data collected, submitted, and accepted on time during CY 2026 will be processed for compliance determinations in CY 2027.
July 2027 (projected): CMS will send non-compliance letters to hospices that did not meet HQRP requirements for CY 2026. Letters will be mailed and posted in iQIES folders.
October 1, 2027 (FY 2028): Payment impact begins. Hospices that fail to meet the 90% on-time submission threshold for CY 2026 HOPE records will face the 4-percentage-point Annual Payment Update (APU) reduction starting this date.
No earlier than November 2027 (FY 2028): Public reporting of HOPE-based quality measures on Care Compare will begin, based on four quarters of CY 2026 data.

Additional Transition Milestones

The February 2026 Hospice Provider Preview reports and Hospice CAHPS Preview reports (supporting the May 2026 Care Compare refresh) will be the last preview reports distributed through CASPER/QIES. They will remain available for 60 days.
Beginning May 2026, Hospice Provider Preview reports and Hospice CAHPS Preview reports (supporting the August 2026 refresh) will be distributed through iQIES and will remain available for 60 days.
One CAHPS measure, Training family to care for patient, will be removed from public reporting beginning with the May 2026 refresh. Reporting of this measure is expected to resume with the February 2028 refresh.
Hospice APU Non-compliance Notification letters for FY 2027 (based on CY 2025 data) will be distributed through iQIES.
CMS finalized two new HOPE-based process quality measures: Timely Follow-up for Pain Impact and Timely Follow-up for Non-Pain Symptom Impact.
CMS will host an HQRP Forum on February 26, 2026, from 1:00–2:00 PM ET to share updates on HOPE implementation and the iQIES transition.

What This Means for Hospice Providers

HIS submission workflows should be fully retired and replaced with HOPE processes in iQIES.
Historical reports stored in CASPER will no longer be accessible after the transition deadlines listed above.
Quality, compliance, and billing teams must be proficient in retrieving reports within iQIES.
Organizations that rely on archived reports for benchmarking or audit documentation should download the needed files before access is removed.
Internal policies referencing CASPER reporting may need to be updated to reflect iQIES as the sole reporting platform.
The 90% on-time submission threshold applies to all required HOPE records: Admission, Discharge, and up to two HOPE Update Visits (HUV1, HUV2), each due within 30 days of the event or completion date.
Failure to meet HQRP requirements results in a 4-percentage-point reduction in the APU, which could turn the current 2.6% payment increase into a -1.4% reduction.
CY 2026 is effectively a dress rehearsal year. Organizations that master clean assessment capture, error handling, and on-time submissions now will be better positioned for any future payment refinements tied to HOPE data.

What Providers Should Do Now

Confirm your organization is fully operational within iQIES for HOPE submissions.
Review and validate iQIES user roles and access permissions, ensuring all relevant staff have the proper credentials.
Identify and download any needed historical FVR, Review and Correct, or QM reports from CASPER before access ends (February 16, February 23, and March 15, 2026, respectively).
Train quality and compliance staff on report retrieval, data submission, and error correction processes in iQIES.
Monitor CMS communications for additional transition updates, including the CMS HQRP Announcements & Spotlight page and the HQRP Training and Education Library.
Review Final Validation Reports (FVRs) and the new Timeliness Compliance Threshold Report in iQIES regularly to track submission acceptance rates and ensure you meet or exceed the 90% threshold.
Audit your HOPE workflows, including Symptom Follow-up Visit (SFV) processes. When pain or non-pain symptom impact is rated moderate or severe at an Admission or HUV, an in-person SFV must be conducted within 2 calendar days.
Attend the upcoming HQRP Forum on February 26, 2026, for the latest CMS updates on HOPE and iQIES.

2026 HQRP & Data Specs Updates

⚠️ HQRP Alert — Action Awareness (February 2026)

The CAHPS measure “Training family to care for patient” will be removed from Care Compare public reporting beginning with the May 2026 refresh. It is expected to resume with the February 2028 refresh. This does NOT change your data collection requirements — continue collecting and submitting this measure as normal. The removal only affects what is publicly displayed on Care Compare. If your team or leadership monitors public scores, communicate this change proactively so the disappearance of this measure does not cause alarm.

⚠️ Upcoming: February 26, 2026 — HQRP Forum, 1:00–2:00 PM ET

CMS will host a live webinar specifically covering HOPE implementation and the transition to iQIES. Attendance is recommended for quality coordinators, compliance staff, and anyone managing HOPE submissions.

Meeting link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/29742109254116?p=pV4gsiFxdNuXQoqGoU

The outcome of this meeting resulted in CMS posting an update to the QM Users Manual to clarify language about measure calculations, a corresponding v1.04 Change Table, and an updated Current Measures list.

February 18, 2026 — HQRP Public Reporting Quarterly Refresh

The February 2026 quarterly refresh is now live on Care Compare at Medicare.gov. One CAHPS measure is affected:

“Training family to care for patient” is being removed from public reporting beginning with the May 2026 refresh.
CMS expects to resume reporting this measure with the February 2028 refresh.
This change was finalized in the FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule (CMS-1835-F) and is already reflected in the book.
No change to HOPE data collection, item set, or guidance manual.

Action Needed? Yes, for your QAPI team. Pull your agency’s current score on this measure before May 2026 and document it for your records. Once it disappears from public view, you will not be able to compare your performance against the national average until 2028.

January 29, 2026 — HOPE Data Specs Errata V1.00.3 (Production effective: February 18, 2026)

CMS posted a fourth issue to the HOPE Data Submission Specifications errata. The current guidance manual remains v1.02, and no clinical assessment requirements changed. This is a data specs correction only.

The fix addresses two edits on Item A1400 (Payer Information) that were incorrectly copied into the hospice setting from IRF and LTCH submission specs:

Edit -3083 is removed entirely. It incorrectly required that A1400B = 0 when A1400A = 1. This edit does not apply in hospice.
Edit -3084 is changed from a FATAL error to a WARNING. It previously caused outright rejection when A1400C = 1 and A1400D ≠ 0. Beginning February 18, 2026, your record will be accepted, and a warning will appear on the Final Validation Report (FVR) instead.

What this means for you:

If your agency had records rejected in iQIES for A1400 edits -3083 or -3084 before February 18, 2026, resubmit them after that date.
Notify your vendor or EHR team that the production update takes effect on February 18, 2026.
Update any internal QA checklists that flagged these edits as hard stops.

Action Needed? Yes, if you have any A1400-related rejections pending. All other agencies should confirm their vendor has applied the February 18 production update.

Source: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/hope-data-specs-errata-v1-00-3-01-16-2026.pdf

Quarterly Review Tool

🗓️ ACTIVE DEADLINE — May 2026 Preview Reports

Hospice Provider Preview Reports for the May 2026 Care Compare refresh are available in CASPER from February 11 through March 13, 2026. After 60 days, they are permanently removed from CASPER and cannot be recovered. Log in to CASPER → Provider Preview Reports, download your reports, and share with your quality team before the deadline.

Note: The “Training family to care for patient” CAHPS measure will NOT appear in the May 2026 public refresh — see the alert at the top of this page for context.

HOPE Quarterly Update Checklist

Official CMS Resources

Access the latest HOPE materials directly from CMS:

HOPE Assessment Tool Updates & Version Tracking