ICH CAHPS Announcements

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REVISED 8/8/25: Updated ICH CAHPS Survey Materials for the 2025 Fall Survey
Changes to Survey MaterialsPosted August 11, 2025

The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team would like to give early notification to ICH CAHPS Survey vendors of the following survey materials that will be revised for implementation during the 2025 Fall Survey period.

OMB Disclosure Notice Protocol (REVISED 8/8/25):

The OMB Disclosure Notice (notice) has been revised to include additional information required by OMB.
The revised notice, which is longer than the current notice, must be printed on either the questionnaire OR on the cover letters 1 and 2 (in all approved languages).
- PLEASE NOTE that this is a change from the protocol included in this memo that was originally posted on July 25,2025 which stated the notice must only be printed on the mail survey. This posted announcement has been updated to reflect this change in protocol.
- Vendors can make the determination on whether to include the notice on the mail survey or on the ICH CAHPS cover letters 1 and 2 or both the survey and the letters.
- If choosing to print the notice on the mail survey only (and not the letters), vendors should remove the notice text from their personalized cover letters 1 and 2. If choosing to print the notice on cover letters 1 and 2 only (and not the survey), vendors should remove the notice text from their personalized mail surveys.

ICH CAHPS Mail Survey (all approved languages):

The OMB expiration date, which is required to be printed under the standalone OMB number in the upper right-hand corner on the cover/first page of the mail survey, has been revised to display as: “Expiration Date: January 31, 2026.”
- For reference, the current mail survey displays this OMB expiration date as: “Expiration Date: September 30, 2025.”
If printing the revised OMB Disclosure Notice (notice) on the mail survey:
- The notice may be printed on the survey cover (or the first page if there is no cover page) or the last page of the mail survey, using a font size equal to or larger than 9 point.
- Although the revised notice still includes the OMB number within it, the OMB number must still appear separately on the survey cover (or first page of the mail survey if there is no cover page). In other words, if the revised notice is printed on the survey cover/first page, then the OMB number will appear twice on this page: once within the OMB Disclosure Notice and separately in the top right corner along with the expiration date.

ICH CAHPS Cover Letters 1 and 2 in all approved languages:

If printing the revised OMB Disclosure Notice (notice) on Cover Letters 1 and 2:
- The notice must be printed using a font size equal to or larger than 9 point.
- Due to the length of the revised notice’s text, it may be necessary to print the notice on the back of the letter, especially once the merge information has been added. Vendors should try to print the notice on the front of the letter, but do not need to submit an ERF if they must print the notice on the back of the cover letters.

The Coordination Team has provided the revised materials to approved survey vendors via email so that they can begin updating their systems/processes to include these new changes and requirements. All survey vendors must update their survey materials before the 2025 Fall Survey begins in October 2025. At this time, these are the only survey materials revisions expected; however, survey vendors will be notified should other changes be required.

These revised mail surveys, cover letters, and standalone OMB Disclosure Notices will also be made available on the ICH CAHPS website in the coming weeks.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.

Reminder: The Deadline to submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2025 Fall Survey is August 31, 2025
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 6, 2025

Survey vendors must notify the Coordination Team of any authorized ICH facilities who have closed or will be closing before the upcoming data collection period. This is done to ensure that a sample file will not be provided to the vendor for that upcoming survey period. For the 2025 Fall Survey, survey vendors must do this by completing and submitting the online Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form as soon as possible after learning that a client facility has closed or will be closing, and no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2025.

Vendors can access the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form by logging into the website and choosing “Vendor Facility Closing Attestation” Form, which is under the For Vendors tab at the top of the website’s home page. Once a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form is submitted by a survey vendor, an email will be sent to both the currently authorized vendor and the facility’s Survey Administrator to notify the facility that the vendor has submitted the form on the facility’s behalf. If a facility or vendor receives this email and feels that the form has been submitted in error, they should contact the Coordination Team immediately.

If a vendor learns that a facility has closed or will be closing after this deadline and will not participate in the 2025 Fall Survey, both the vendor and the facility should contact the Coordination Team immediately for guidance on next steps.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions or need more information about the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 6, 2025

All in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are administering the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time or are switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2025.

If your organization will continue to use the same survey vendor that was used to administer the 2025 Spring Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form. However, you must update the online vendor authorization if any of the following apply:

Your facility is participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time during the 2025 Fall Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2025 Spring Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

If any of the above statements apply to your facility, you must update the online vendor authorization form for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey on the ICH CAHPS website by the August 31, 2025 deadline.

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2024 must administer both the 2025 Spring and Fall Surveys to be compliant with CMS’s quality reporting requirements. If the online vendor authorization form is not updated by the deadline, a sample will not be provided to a survey vendor, which means the 2025 Fall Survey cannot be administered.

The steps for authorizing a vendor on the ICH CAHPS website are as follows:

Log in to the ICH CAHPS website here.
From your personal dashboard, click “Authorize a Vendor.” The system will then take you to the Authorize a Vendor page.
From the “Select Action” drop-down list on the Authorize a Vendor page:
- If authorizing a vendor for the first time on the website: Select the “Select a vendor for the first time” option.
- If changing/switching to a different vendor: Select the “Switch to a different vendor” option.
Select the name of your survey vendor from the vendor drop-down list.
Select the Beginning Survey Period for your new vendor. In this instance, you would select "2025 Fall Survey."
Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor beyond the 2025 Fall Survey.
Select the CCN(s) of the ICH facility (or facilities) to which the authorization applies.
Click the “Submit” button.

Please note the following:

No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2025 Fall Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2025.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2025 Fall Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this August 31, 2025 deadline. This will ensure that a sample file will not be provided to the vendor for the upcoming survey period. Vendors are encouraged to confirm with their facility contacts prior to this deadline that the facility is open and operating as expected.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1–866–245–8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions.

Reminder: Only One Week before the Data Submission Deadline for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 23, 2025

The deadline for submitting data files from the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, which is 1 week from today. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not accept any data files after that date and time.

We strongly encourage vendors who have not submitted an XML file for any of their facility clients to begin submitting as soon as possible. Remember that vendors must submit their data files in time to correct and re-submit any files that do not pass the validation checks.

Please feel free to contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

ICH CAHPS Coordination Team Semi-Annual Review (CTSAR) Newsletter – July 2025 Edition
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 22, 2025

The ICH CAHPS Team has published the July 2025 edition of the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team Semi-Annual Review (CTSAR). As a reminder, this newsletter is a way to provide in-center hemodialysis facilities and survey vendors with helpful ICH CAHPS information.

The CTSAR is posted on the ICH CAHPS website and updated every January and July. You can navigate to the July 2025 newsletter in the Quick Links box on the ICH CAHPS home page, under the General Information tab on the ICH CAHPS website, or you can click here to view it now.

The CTSAR does not replace any source of information currently on the ICH CAHPS website; instead, it highlights important information for readers prior to each survey period. We encourage you to visit the ICH CAHPS website for more information on the items mentioned in this newsletter. Please continue to monitor the ICH CAHPS website for updates and announcements.

Please contact the Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions or need more information.

Reminder: Only 2 Weeks before the Data Submission Deadline for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 16, 2025

As a reminder, the deadline for submitting data files from the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM ET on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, which is only 2 weeks away. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not accept any data files after that date and time.

We strongly encourage vendors to begin submitting XML files as soon as possible following the end of data collection. Remember that vendors should submit their data files in time for them to correct and re-submit any files that do not pass the validation checks.

Please feel free to contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

Reminder: Only 3 Weeks before the Data Submission Deadline for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 9, 2025

As a reminder, data collection for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey ends on Friday, July 11, 2025. The deadline for submitting data files from the 2025 Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, which is only 3 weeks away. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not accept any data files after that date and time.

As XML files are uploaded to the ICH CAHPS Data Center, a series of validation checks are made, one of which is a check to ensure that a patient-level record is included on the XML file for every case that was sampled for a CCN. Please note the following:

If the number of cases you include on an XML file does not match the number sampled, an error or warning message will appear on your data submission report.
If the error message appears for one or more of your CCNs, please make sure that you have entered information about each sampled case on the XML file.

Also be reminded that survey vendors:

should submit their files as soon as possible to allow adequate time to correct any problems identified and re-submit the files before the deadline; and
can submit a file for a CCN as many times as needed; however, keep in mind that each time a file for a CCN is re-submitted, it overwrites the file that was submitted previously.

Please feel free to contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions or need help with data submissions.

Proposed ESRD Prospective Payment System Rule for Calendar Year 2026
Information for Dialysis FacilitiesPosted July 3, 2025

The ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule for calendar year 2026, which was published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2025, is now available here.

Reminder of Upcoming Deadline for Submitting Facility-Specific Questions for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey for Approval
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 1, 2025

This is a reminder that ICH CAHPS Survey vendors must submit all facility-specific questions that they plan to add to the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey to the Coordination Team for review and approval. If any of your ICH facility clients are planning to add any new facility-specific questions to the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey, or change any currently approved facility-specific questions, please send those questions and their proposed placement to the Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org before 5:00 PM ET on August 1, 2025.

Please note that facility-specific questions that were approved by the Coordination Team for use in previous survey periods do not need to be approved again unless the question wording or response options have changed. If changes have been made, please submit the changes by the August 1^st deadline.

The Coordination Team will accept facility-specific questions for review after the August 1, 2025 deadline; however, approval of those questions may not be granted in time for the questions to be included in the 2025 Fall Survey. Survey vendors should work with their client ICH facilities to decide on the use of new facility-specific questions and submit the questions to the Coordination Team as soon as possible to avoid a delay in approval.

Please contact the Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or by calling 1-888-245-8083 if you have any questions.

Tentative Data Collection Schedule for the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey
Other AnnouncementsPosted June 30, 2025

The tentative data collection schedule and the dates for some key activities related to the 2025 In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Fall Survey are shown below. Please note that these dates are subject to change. Should a schedule change occur, an announcement will be emailed and posted.

Please note that this year, the Thanksgiving holiday falls on November 27, 2025, during the last week of November. Some vendors may have difficulties with mailing the 2nd survey package (mail-only) or beginning phone follow-up (mixed mode) for the 2025 Fall Survey on the originally scheduled date of November 28, 2025 (the day after Thanksgiving). As such, the 2025 Fall data collection schedule has been set such that vendors may either begin implementing the second wave of ICH CAHPS data collection on November 28, 2025, or the following week on December 3, 2025. The deadline for data submission will remain January 28, 2026, for both schedules.

Activity	Date
Submit New Facility-Specific Questions to CMS	8/1/2025
Deadline for Authorizing a Vendor for 2025 Fall Survey¹	8/31/2025
Deadline (for vendors) to submit Facility Closed Attestation form²	8/31/2025
Deadline (for vendors) to Review Vendor Authorization Report and Notify the Coordination Team of any Authorization Issues	9/2/2025

Sampling Window	4/1/2025-6/30/2025
Sample Files Uploaded on ICH CAHPS Website	9/26/2025
Vendors Attest to Receipt of Sample File	9/30/2025
Mail Prenotification Letter	10/17/2025
Mail 1^st Survey (mail only and mixed mode)/Begin Telephone data collection (phone only mode)	10/31/2025
Mail 2^nd Survey (mail only)/Begin phone follow-up (mixed mode)	11/28/2025 OR 12/3/2025
Data Collection Ends	1/9/2026
Vendors Clean/Process Final Data and Construct XML File	1/9/2026-1/28/2026
Deadline for Submitting XML Data File to ICH Data Center	1/28/2026

¹ Only ICH facilities that will be switching to a different survey vendor and those that will be participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time will need to complete the online vendor authorization form.

² Submission of the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form alerts the Coordination Team that a sample file should not be provided for the facility for the upcoming ICH CAHPS Survey period, due to the closing of the facility.

Please contact the Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org or call 1-866-245-8083 if you have any questions or need more information about the upcoming ICH CAHPS Survey Period.

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