ICH CAHPS Announcements

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Updated ICH CAHPS Data Submission and XML Schema Validation Tools Available
Data SubmissionsPosted May 18, 2026

The online ICH CAHPS Data Submission Tool and XML Schema Validation Tool have been updated for the 2026 Spring Survey data submission period to reflect the changes made to the revised survey. Both updated tools are available on the ICH CAHPS website and can be accessed by survey vendors logging in and navigating to the desired link under the “Data Submission” menu.

The purpose of the XML Schema Validation Tool is to help survey vendors test their XML files developed for data submission, prior to actually submitting data. In the Data Submission Tool, vendors can upload up to five XML data files at once. Additional submission tips and information can be found on the Data Submission Resources webpage.

Due to the revisions made to the ICH CAHPS Survey prior to the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey, now 38 questions as opposed to the previous 62 questions, it is strongly recommended that survey vendors complete the following quality control (QC) checks early in the data collection period, in addition to the typical QC checks performed prior to the data submission deadline:

Vendors should perform QC checks to ensure that both their mail scanning/keying systems and their CATI systems are functioning properly based on the revised mail survey and telephone script. Vendors should utilize the XML Schema Validation Tool to QC data.
1. Once a vendor has preliminary data, we encourage you to submit a couple files using the Data Submission Tool to confirm that everything looks correct in the Data Submission History reports for those submissions. Note that submitting the final data file in July will replace any preliminary data submitted for testing.
Vendors should perform QC checks on the new race question in both their mail and CATI systems. Please keep in mind that there is now one single question combining ethnicity and race, fewer race response options, two brand-new race response categories, and no race subcategory questions in CATI.
Vendors can compare the frequencies of their 2025 Fall response data for each question that remained in the survey to ensure survey systems are accurately capturing the proper values for each question; if frequencies appear to be drastically different for a certain question, vendors should check their systems and data accordingly.

Vendors are encouraged to initiate these QC checks after Wave 1 data collection activities, which began on May 1^st and then again after the Wave 2 data collection efforts that will begin on May 29^th, once mail and/or phone data has been received.

The deadline for submitting data files from the 2026 Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Vendors are encouraged to submit their final data files as soon as possible to allow adequate time to correct any problems identified and re-submit the files before the deadline.

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.

RTI International will be closed May 25, 2026 for the Memorial Day Holiday
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 18, 2026

RTI International will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2026 for the Memorial Day holiday. The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries that are received on that date as soon as possible after RTI re-opens on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

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

Deadline for Submitting an Updated 2026 ICH CAHPS Quality Assurance Plan
Other AnnouncementsPosted May 1, 2026

This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for ICH CAHPS Survey vendors to submit the annual Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on May 31, 2026. If you have already submitted your 2026 QAP, you can ignore this email.

The QAP must describe how the survey vendor will implement, comply with, and provide oversight of all survey and data processing activities associated with the ICH CAHPS Survey. To ensure prompt review and acceptance of your Annual QAP, please follow the procedures listed below:

Locate the version of your most recently approved QAP; that is, the version that was accepted by CMS and the Coordination Team in 2025 (or later if edits were made and submitted after the 2025 review process).
Make a copy of that version and accept all tracked changes, creating a clean copy of your QAP.
Make all 2026 updates to your clean copy using track changes, so that your document reflects only the changes made since your most recently approved QAP.
Make sure to include updates to your QAP if your organization has had changes in ICH CAHPS Survey personnel, changes to protocols or procedures, and/or changes in approved survey mode(s).

Make sure your QAP follows the format shown in the Model QAP posted on the ICH CAHPS website. Also make sure that you provide information for every topic included in the Model QAP.

Before submitting your annual QAP, check it carefully to make sure that it reflects all ICH CAHPS Survey protocols disseminated via announcements posted on the ICH CAHPS website and/or described in the latest version of the Survey Administration and Specifications Manual.
Vendors should submit for review a copy of all survey materials (envelope, prenotification letter, cover letters 1 and 2, mail surveys, telephone scripts) for each language the survey is being administered in. As a reminder, if not already, vendors must begin including the following per the Model QAP (revised in February 2025):
- Requested details on subcontractor oversight activities the vendor conducts for all aspects of the survey process; and
- A work plan for each of the vendor’s approved modes of data collection.
Submit your QAP online via the ICH CAHPS website by accessing the Submit Quality Assurance Plan option under the “For Vendors” menu on the grey bar at the top of the website’s home page (https://ichcahps.org/).

The QAP must be updated and submitted annually on or before May 31 of each year and any time the vendor has a change in ICH CAHPS personnel, capabilities, or systems that are used to administer the ICH CAHPS Survey. Remember that you must also update your online ICH CAHPS Vendor Application Form if you have been approved to add/drop survey modes, changed key personnel and/or subcontractors, and/or have changed your business name or location.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at 1-866-245-8083 or via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the QAP update process or deadline.

NOW AVAILABILE: 2026 Spring XML File Layout
Data SubmissionsPosted April 24, 2026

Dear ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor,

The 2026 Spring ICH CAHPS XML File Layout is now available on the ICH CAHPS website under Data Submission Resources: https://ichcahps.org/Data-Submission/Data-Submission-Resources. This website version is the same as the version emailed to vendors in late March; however, the website version is 508-compliant.

This updated XML File Layout reflects updates made to the newly revised ICH CAHPS Survey, implemented starting with this 2026 Spring Survey period. All approved vendors must ensure that their data submission files are updated accordingly and are compliant with the current XML File Layout and associated schema.

As a reminder, vendors must validate their XML files prior to submission using the XML Schema Validation Tool. The Schema Validation Tool and Data Submission Tool will be updated by mid-May 2026 and vendors will be notified when these tools are available.

Please ensure all necessary updates are made ahead of the 2026 Spring data submission deadline (July 29, 2026).

If you have any questions, please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team at ichcahps@rti.org.

Patient-Mix Coefficients, Star Ratings, and Average State and National Scores for the ICH CAHPS Survey Results Publicly Reported in April 2026
Information for Dialysis FacilitiesPosted April 23, 2026

The ICH CAHPS Survey results that are currently posted on Care Compare on the Medicare.gov website (https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/) are based on ICH CAHPS Survey data from the 2024 ICH CAHPS Fall and 2025 ICH CAHPS Spring Surveys.

Patient-Mix Coefficients and Star Ratings for the 2026 April Refresh

The results shown are statistically adjusted for both data collection mode and for patient-mix. Information about the adjustments made to the survey results and the coefficients used to adjust the results can be found here. Information presented in this document will allow ICH facilities to approximate the effect of patient-mix adjustment on their ICH CAHPS Survey results that were posted on Care Compare in April 2026. This document also includes additional information on the clustering method used to create ICH CAHPS Star Ratings (Appendix A).

Average State and National Scores for the 2026 April Refresh

In addition, you can click here to see the state and national averages for the three ICH CAHPS composite measures and the three global ratings based on the combined data from these two survey periods. The average response rate for each state and the overall response rate are also provided in this document.

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

SPECIAL EDITION 2026 Spring ICH CAHPS Poster/Flyer Now Available
Other AnnouncementsPosted April 20, 2026

Dear ICH CAHPS Facility Survey Administrators,

We’re excited to share a special edition of the ICH CAHPS poster/flyer for the 2026 Spring Survey! We have attached this special edition poster/flyer to this email, in English and Spanish. These documents are also available on the ICH CAHPS website: https://ichcahps.org/Survey-and-Protocols.

This poster/flyer highlights a big update: the survey is now shorter and takes less time to complete, but still asks the important questions that help improve dialysis care for everyone. It also allows you to add your vendor’s name and toll-free number, as well as your facility logo should you choose to.

We strongly encourage ICH facilities to hang this flyer in your dialysis centers to help spread the word and boost participation. CMS is hoping that by hanging up or passing out this flyer, letting patients know that the survey is now shorter, it will help increase ICH CAHPS Survey response rates. If you are a large dialysis organization (LDO), we strongly encourage you to distribute this to all of the facilities under your umbrella!

THANK YOU for helping us get the word out and encouraging patient engagement!

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

February 28, 2026 is the deadline for submitting Facility Non-Participation Forms and Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Forms for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 26, 2026

This is a reminder that the deadline for submitting 2026 Facility Non-Participation Forms AND the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Forms for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026.

2026 Facility Non-Participation Form – Submitted by ICH Facility Survey Administrators

ICH facilities that determine that they are not required to administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Surveys and those that choose not to administer the surveys must complete and submit the 2026 Facility Non-Participation Form on the website. For more information on this form and how to determine if a facility should submit it, please refer to the email message sent to in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities on January 5, 2026 and posted under the Quick Links menu on the ICH CAHPS website’s home page.

To access this form, ICH Facility Survey Administrators should log into the website using their user credentials and choose “Facility Non-Participation Form” under the For Facilities menu.

Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form – Submitted by Approved Survey Vendors

Survey vendors must notify the Coordination Team of any authorized ICH facilities who have closed or will be closing before the 2026 Spring Survey data collection period by completing and submitting the online Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

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 2026 Spring 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 Facility Non-Participation Form or the Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

Deadline for Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey is February 28, 2026
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 26, 2026

This is a reminder that all in-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that are administering the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time or are switching to a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026. Please note you must update the online vendor authorization only if the following applies.

Your facility is participating in the ICH CAHPS Survey for the first time during the 2026 Spring Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2026 Spring Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2025 Fall Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

If your organization will continue to use the same ICH CAHPS Survey vendor that was used to administer the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey, you do not need to update the online vendor authorization form.

If any of the above statements apply to your facility, you must update the online vendor authorization form for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey on the ICH CAHPS website by the February 28, 2026 deadline. Please note that you must have a formal written contract with an approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendor before authorizing that vendor on the website.

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2025 must administer both the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys to be compliant with the CMS 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 2026 Spring 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 "2026 Spring Survey."
Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor for the 2026 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 2026 Spring Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2026 Spring Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this February 28, 2026 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.

The In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Survey has been revised!
Changes to Survey MaterialsPosted February 24, 2026

Dear ICH CAHPS Survey Facility Survey Administrators (SAs),

We want to share with all facility SAs that the ICH CAHPS Survey has been revised! We have received all necessary approvals, and the revised survey will be implemented beginning with the 2026 Spring Survey period. The revised mail survey is now 38 questions (24 questions were removed) and the telephone survey is now 36 questions (23 questions were removed).

As you know, we encourage facilities to increase awareness of the ICH CAHPS Survey within their facilities so that patients know the legitimacy and importance of the survey. You can now let patients know that we heard their feedback and shortened the survey! In addition, we encourage all facilities to use the official ICH CAHPS Survey Poster/Flyer and the Waiting Room Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which can both be found on the Survey Materials Page. Please note that the Waiting Room FAQs have been updated in all the available languages:

Revised reference of number of minutes the (revised) survey will take to complete from “16” to “12”.
Removed reference to the survey asking opinions about kidney doctors.

We also want to provide facility SAs with a summary of the other revised survey materials, including a description of the updates made to each document. All materials can be found on the Survey Materials Page.

ICH CAHPS Cover Letters 1 and 2 (English, Spanish, Samoan, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese):

Added a sentence to both Cover Letters 1 and 2 to note that the survey is now shorter.
The OMB disclosure notice has been revised to reflect the average time to take the survey is now 12 minutes, instead of the previous 16 minutes.

ICH CAHPS Mail Survey (English, Spanish, Samoan, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese):

The revised ICH CAHPS Mail Survey now contains 38 survey questions (was previously 62).
There is now a revised single question to gather race and ethnicity information, with new response options.
The OMB disclosure notice has been revised to reflect the average time to take the survey is now 12 minutes, instead of the previous 16 minutes.
The OMB expiration date was revised.

ICH CAHPS Telephone Script (English and Spanish):

The revised ICH CAHPS Telephone Script now contains 36 survey questions (was previously 59).
INTRO2 now references that the survey is shorter.
There is now a revised single question to gather race and ethnicity information, with new response options.

OMB Disclosure Notice (English, Spanish, Samoan, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese):

The OMB disclosure notice has been revised to reflect the average time to take the survey is now 12 minutes, instead of the previous 16 minutes.

Telephone Interviewer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (English and Spanish):

Revised references of number of minutes the (revised) survey will take to complete from “16” to “12”.
Removed references to the survey asking opinions about kidney doctors.

Survey Composites:

Revised to show the survey items included in each of the ICH CAHPS Survey composite measures, based on the revised ICH CAHPS Survey to be implemented beginning with the 2026 Spring Survey period.

Please note that all updated survey materials were provided to your approved survey vendor in January 2026. They will implement the revised survey for their facility clients, beginning with the 2026 Spring Survey.

If you have any questions regarding the revised ICH CAHPS Survey, please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org.

Only One Week before the Deadline to submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2026 Spring Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted February 20, 2026

This is a reminder that survey vendors must notify the Coordination Team of any authorized ICH facilities who have closed or will be closing before the 2026 Spring Survey data collection period by completing and submitting the online Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form as soon as possible after learning of such closure(s), and no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026.

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.

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