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Reminder: The Deadline to submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2026 Spring Survey is February 28, 2026
folder_openFacility Participation Requirementscalendar_todayPosted January 6, 2026

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 2026 Spring 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 February 28, 2026.

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 Vendor Facility Closing Attestation 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 Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form.

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Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
folder_openFacility Participation Requirementscalendar_todayPosted January 6, 2026

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 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.

If your organization will continue to use the same survey vendor that was used to administer the 2025 Fall 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 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 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.

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year 2025 must administer both the 2026 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 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: 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 beyond the 2026 Spring Survey.
  • Select the CCN(s) of the ICH facility (or facilities) to which the authorization applies.
  • Click the “Submit” button.

Please note the following:

  1. No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2026 Spring Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026.
  2. 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.

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Participation in the 2026 ICH CAHPS Surveys
folder_openFacility Participation Requirementscalendar_todayPosted January 5, 2026

In-center hemodialysis (ICH) facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in calendar year (CY) 2025 must administer the In-center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Survey in the Spring and Fall of CY2026 to comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) quality reporting requirements for the 2028 payment year.

All ICH facilities should read this announcement in its entirety to determine whether they are required to participate in the ICH CAHPS Survey in CY2026 and if so, review the steps that need to be taken.

 

Determining Whether Participation in the CY2026 ICH CAHPS Surveys is Required

To determine whether your ICH facility (CCN) is required to participate in the ICH CAHPS Surveys in CY2026, count the number of survey-eligible patients your facility served in CY2025. Your count must include hemodialysis patients who:

  • were 18 years old or older as of December 31, 2025;
  • were alive as of December 31, 2025;
  • received hemodialysis on an outpatient basis from your facility for 3 consecutive months or longer at some point in CY2025;
  • are not currently receiving hospice care;
  • were not receiving dialysis care at a nursing home or other skilled nursing facility where they lived (as opposed to traveling to an ICH facility); and
  • were not living in a long-term facility such as a prison or jail as of December 31, 2025.

Please note the following important details when counting your survey-eligible patients:

  1. Patients who receive home or peritoneal dialysis are not eligible to participate in the ICH CAHPS Survey; therefore, do not include those patients in your count of survey-eligible patients.
  2. If a patient resides in a nursing home/skilled nursing facility but travels to an ICH facility for dialysis, they are eligible to participate and should be counted as survey-eligible; however, if a patient receives dialysis in the nursing home/skilled nursing facility where they reside, they are not eligible.

ICH facilities should note that the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team DOES NOT have information about the number of survey-eligible patients a facility served in CY2025. Therefore, each ICH facility is responsible for determining whether it is required to administer the semiannual 2026 ICH CAHPS Surveys.

In addition, ICH facilities that received Medicare certification after December 31, 2025 are not required to participate in the ICH CAHPS Survey in CY2026.

 

For Facilities That Are NOT Required To Participate

ICH facilities that served 29 or fewer survey-eligible patients in CY2025 are not required to participate in the ICH CAHPS Surveys in CY2026. However, all such facilities can choose one of the following four options:

  • Option 1. Administer the surveys in 2026 following all of the ICH protocols and procedures described in the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual;
  • Option 2. Administer the survey using a third-party vendor but not following the ICH CAHPS protocols and procedures;
  • Option 3. Administer the survey themselves, instead of using a third-party vendor; however, if any changes are made to the survey, it cannot be referred to as a CAHPS Survey; or
  • Option 4. Choose not to administer the survey at all.

If a facility that served 29 or fewer survey-eligible patients in CY2025 chooses Option 1, the ICH facility must be registered on the ICH CAHPS website and a vendor must be authorized. A patient sample will be provided to the facility’s authorized ICH CAHPS Survey vendor for both the 2026 Spring and Fall Surveys. The surveys must be conducted according to all ICH CAHPS Survey protocols and procedures, which include the following:

  • Using a CMS-approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendor to administer the survey on its behalf;
  • Administering both the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys;
  • Adhering to the ICH CAHPS Survey administration procedures and protocols described in the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual when administering the survey; and
  • Submitting an ICH CAHPS Survey data file for each survey period to the ICH CAHPS Data Center.

If a facility chooses Option 2 or Option 3, patient samples will not be provided to a vendor (Option 2) or a facility (Option 3), nor will any submitted data files be accepted by the Data Center for these options. The ICH facility will be responsible for either working with a survey vendor (if choosing Option 2) or within their own organization (if choosing Option 3) to select the samples for the survey that will be conducted and for conducting all other aspects of the survey.

Please note: Because facilities implementing Option 2 or Option 3 will not submit an ICH CAHPS Survey data file to the Data Center, their collected survey data will not be analyzed for official ICH CAHPS public reporting purposes, nor will the administration of these surveys be used to determine ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) compliance.

 

Facility Non-Participation Form

If an ICH facility chooses Option 2, Option 3, or Option 4, the facility must complete and submit a 2026 ICH CAHPS Facility Non-Participation Form, which is an online form that is available on the ICH CAHPS website (available under the For Facilities tab once the user logs in to the website). ICH facilities should note the following:

  • The Facility Non-Participation Form is an annual form that is valid only for the year in which it was submitted. ICH facilities that submitted the Facility Non-Participation Form in CY2025 must submit the 2026 Facility Non-Participation Form if they do not plan to administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys.
  • Submission of the Facility Non-Participation Form only alerts the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team that the facility does not wish for a sample file to be provided to their authorized vendor for the current calendar year; it does not affect compliance, which is determined on an annual basis by the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) team.
  • Once the Facility Non-Participation Form is submitted, any existing vendor authorization for the submitted facility is removed from the ICH CAHPS website. This means that if at any point in the future the submitted facility wishes to participate in the ICH CAHPS Surveys, the designated ICH CAHPS Facility Survey Administrator will need to authorize a survey vendor for the facility.
  • Facilities certified after December 31, 2025 are not required to complete and submit the online Facility Non-Participation Form, unless they are registered with an authorized vendor on the ICH CAHPS website.

If your organization does not plan to administer the ICH CAHPS Surveys in 2026, you must complete and submit the 2026 Facility Non-Participation Form by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026.

 

For Facilities That ARE Required To Participate

ICH facilities that served 30 or more survey-eligible patients in CY2025 must administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys to comply with quality reporting requirements for the 2028 payment year.

For Facilities that Administered the ICH CAHPS Survey in CY2025

A sample file will be provided to the survey vendor that is currently authorized on the ICH CAHPS website. If an ICH facility plans to use a different ICH CAHPS Survey vendor than was used in 2025, the facility must update its vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website before 5:00 PM Eastern Time on February 28, 2026. Click here for instructions on how to change the online vendor authorization.

For Facilities that have Never Administered the ICH CAHPS Survey

To participate in the survey for the first time, ICH facilities must do the following, if they have not already done so.

  1. Select and contract with one of the ICH CAHPS Survey vendors that have been approved by CMS. The list of CMS-approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendors is available on the ICH CAHPS website: https://ichcahps.org/General-Information/Approved-Survey-Vendors.
  2. Designate a staff member to be the facility’s ICH CAHPS Survey Administrator (SA). For more information about the role of the ICH CAHPS SA, see information provided in Chapter III of the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual, which is available on the ICH CAHPS website: https://ichcahps.org/Survey-and-Protocols.
  3. Register on the ICH CAHPS website: https://ichcahps.org/For-Facilities/Facility-User-Registration. When registering, your facility’s designated SA will create user credentials (username and password) that will allow him or her to access the private links on the ICH CAHPS website.
  4. Complete the online “Authorize a Vendor” form on the ICH CAHPS website by February 28, 2026 to authorize your survey vendor to collect and submit ICH CAHPS Survey data on your facility’s behalf.

 

Closed Dialysis Facilities

We know that dialysis facilities sometimes close; however, the Coordination Team does not know when these closures occur. Facilities must notify their vendors of any facility closures so that we do not include closed facilities in the sample provided to vendors. For the 2026 Spring Survey, facilities must inform vendors of any known closed facilities by 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 2026 ICH CAHPS Surveys.

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The 2026 ICH CAHPS Survey Facility Non-Participation Form
folder_openFacility Participation Requirementscalendar_todayPosted January 5, 2026

Please note that the 2026 ICH CAHPS Survey Facility Non-Participation Form is now available on the ICH CAHPS website. To access this form, log in to the website using your user credentials and choose “Facility Non-Participation Form” under the For Facilities menu.

As noted in an 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, all ICH facilities must determine whether they will be required to administer the ICH CAHPS Survey in calendar year (CY) 2026 by counting the number of survey-eligible patients they served in CY2025.

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 ICH CAHPS Facility Non-Participation Form on the website.

ICH facilities should note the following:

  • The Facility Non-Participation Form is an annual form that is valid only for the year in which it was submitted. ICH facilities that submitted the Facility Non-Participation Form in CY2025 must submit the 2026 Facility Non-Participation Form if they do not plan to administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring and Fall Surveys.
  • Submission of the Facility Non-Participation Form only alerts the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team that the facility does not wish for a sample file to be provided to their authorized vendor for the current calendar year; it does not affect compliance, which is determined on an annual basis by the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) team.
  • Once the Facility Non-Participation Form is submitted, any existing vendor authorization for the submitted facility is removed from the ICH CAHPS website. This means that if at any point in the future the submitted facility wishes to participate in the ICH CAHPS Surveys, the designated ICH CAHPS Survey Administrator will need to authorize a survey vendor for the facility.
  • Facilities certified after December 31, 2025 are not required to complete and submit the online Facility Non-Participation Form, unless they are registered with an authorized vendor on the ICH CAHPS website.

The deadline to submit the 2026 Facility Non-Participation Form is 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 Facility Non-Participation Form.

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Updated ICH CAHPS Survey Materials for the 2026 Spring Survey
folder_openChanges to Survey Materialscalendar_todayPosted December 19, 2025

The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team is currently in the process of updating the ICH CAHPS Survey Administration and Specifications Manual, Version 14.0 and survey materials, and would like to give early notification of the following survey materials that will be revised for implementation during the 2026 Spring Survey period.

As was noted in the memo posted on the ICH CAHPS website on September 26, 2025 (DRAFT Revised ICH CAHPS Surveys for 2026 Spring (tentative) Now Posted on the ICH CAHPS Website), the proposed DRAFT revised ICH CAHPS Survey, in all languages, was posted on the Survey and Protocols webpage. At this time, implementation of the revised ICH CAHPS Survey is still expected to be for the 2026 Spring Survey; however, this is dependent on receiving OMB approval by a certain date. We will keep vendors updated with any changes to this revised survey implementation plan or timeline.

The survey materials that will be revised:

ICH CAHPS Prenotification Letter (English, Spanish, Samoan, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese):

  • Added a sentence to the prenotification letters to note that the survey is now shorter.

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 (which must be printed on either the survey OR on the Cover Letters 1 and 2), has been revised to reflect the average time to take the survey is now 12 minutes, instead of the previous 16 minutes.
    • Please note: The OMB number (included in the OMB disclosure notice) may also be required to be revised. Vendors will be provided with a second/final version of the cover letters 1 and 2 if this update is required, which may not be known until February 2026.

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 (which must be printed on either the survey OR on the Cover Letters 1 and 2), 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 will be revised, but this new date may not be known until February 2026.
    • Please note: The OMB number that must be printed on the survey cover page (and also included in the OMB disclosure notice if the notice is being printed on the survey) may also be required to be revised. Vendors will be provided with a second/final version of the mail survey that includes these final pending OMB changes, once they have been made, which may not be until February 2026.
  • Due to updated Section 508 compliance requirements, the mail surveys posted on the ICH CAHPS website can no longer include underlined text. As such, the revised mail surveys posted on the website (which are 508 compliant) will now display the two instances of the word “not” as “not”. Please note that this word will remain underlined (“not”) in the revised mail surveys that vendors will receive from the Coordination Team, to be administered to sample patients.

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 (which must be printed on either the survey OR on the Cover Letters 1 and 2), has been revised to reflect the average time to take the survey is now 12 minutes, instead of the previous 16 minutes.
    • Please note: The OMB number (included in the OMB disclosure notice) may also be required to be revised. Vendors will be notified of these changes once they have been finalized, which may not be until February 2026.

XML Data Layout File:

  • The ICH CAHPS Survey XML data layout file is being revised for the 2026 Spring Survey to reflect all revisions made to the 2026 Spring mail surveys and telephone scripts. The specific XML file updates will be provided to vendors at a later date.
  • By May 2026, the ICH CAHPS Survey data submission tools (Schema Validation Tool and Data Submission Tool) will be updated to reflect this revised survey. Announcements will be posted on the website when the revised tools are available.
  • All survey vendors must update their XML before the July 29, 2026 data submission deadline for the 2026 Spring Survey. Please note that in light of these significant changes to the XML file, additional information will be provided in the weeks leading up to the July 2026 data submission period regarding quality control checks that vendors should conduct on their 2026 Spring Survey data prior to data submission.

Waiting Room Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (English, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese):

  • 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.

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.

The Coordination Team will provide the revised materials to approved survey vendors via email within the next few weeks, so that they can begin updating their systems/processes. All survey vendors must update their survey materials and systems before the 2026 Spring Survey begins in April 2026. At this time, these are the only survey materials revisions expected; however, survey vendors will be notified should other changes be required (such as the above references changes to the OMB expiration date and OMB number, impacting the mail surveys and Cover Letters 1 and 2).

The revised cover letters, mail surveys, telephone scripts, OMB disclosure notices, waiting room FAQs, telephone interviewer FAQs, the survey composites document, and XML file will also be made available on the ICH CAHPS website in early February 2026. All updated survey materials will be discussed during the ICH CAHPS Vendor Update Training session on Wednesday, February 18, 2026.

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

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RTI International will be closed December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026
folder_openOther Announcementscalendar_todayPosted December 18, 2025

RTI International will be closed on December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026. We will also have limited availability on December 24. The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team will respond to email and telephone technical assistance inquiries that are received on those dates as soon as possible.

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

Happy Holidays!

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2026 In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS Survey Vendor Update Training Session: Registration Open
folder_openTraining Informationcalendar_todayPosted December 8, 2025

The 2026 ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update training will take place on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). Please note the following:

  • Registration for the Vendor Update training session is now available here. Registration will close at 5:00 PM ET on February 17, 2026.
  • Each approved ICH CAHPS Survey vendor’s designated Survey Administrator must attend the entire session.
  • Although not required, we strongly encourage each vendor to have all key ICH CAHPS staff attend this training session.
  • To allow us to accurately track registration attendance lines, if multiple people from an organization plan to attend the training session, each person should register separately using their own unique organization email address and name.

Please note the following reminders regarding subcontractor attendance at ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update trainings:

  • For all vendors who are using a subcontractor who will be conducting one or more of the following activities on the ICH CAHPS Survey, the vendor must alert the subcontractor’s lead ICH CAHPS staff member that they are required to register for and attend the Vendor Update training session:
    • telephone survey data collection
    • mail survey receipt and processing
    • construction or submission of XML data files
  • Subcontractors who conduct printing, mail assembly, or other mailout activities, and those who only monitor/manage the vendor’s ICH CAHPS toll-free hotline, are not required to participate in the Update training sessions.
  • If you are unsure whether your subcontractor should attend the training, please contact the Coordination Team.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the upcoming 2026 ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update training session.

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2026 Introduction to the In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS Survey Training Session (Self-Paced Format): Registration Open
folder_openTraining Informationcalendar_todayPosted December 8, 2025

Registration is now open for the self-paced 2026 Introduction to the In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Survey training. Please note the following:

  • Registration for this training session is available here. Registration will close at 5:00 PM ET on February 17, 2026.
  • Self-paced training materials will be available from February 18 to February 25, 2026.
  • Approved survey vendors and their subcontractors are not required to complete the self-paced Introduction to ICH CAHPS Survey training. However, the Coordination Team strongly encourages new staff from approved vendor organizations to complete this training. These staff do not need to complete a certification at the end of the training.
  • Approved survey vendors will be required to attend the live ICH CAHPS Survey Vendor Update training session on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 1:00 – 4:00 PM ET. Registration for the Vendor Update training session is now available here. Registration will close at 5:00 PM ET on February 18, 2026.

Please contact the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team via email at ichcahps@rti.org if you have any questions about the self-paced 2026 Introduction to the In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS Survey training session.

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2026 ESRD Prospective Payment System Final Rule
folder_openInformation for Dialysis Facilitiescalendar_todayPosted November 24, 2025

The ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule for Calendar Year 2026, which was published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2025, is available here.

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Important Reminder: Accuracy of Patient Contact Information in EQRS for the ICH CAHPS Survey
folder_openOther Announcementscalendar_todayPosted November 21, 2025

Dear In-Center Hemodialysis (ICH) CAHPS Facility Survey Administrators:

As you may know, the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team uses data from the End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Reporting System (EQRS) to draw a sample for each ICH CAHPS Survey. We then provide patient contact information from EQRS to your authorized survey vendor so that they can administer the survey on your behalf to the sampled patients from your facility.

After recent notification from a facility, we conducted a review of the 2025 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey sampling data and identified a small percentage of cases where the dialysis facility’s address was entered into EQRS as the patient’s home address. The use of the facility’s address in place of the patient’s home address can result in survey materials being mailed to the facility; this poses several concerns, including that the facility can determine which patients may have been sampled for the survey.

Accurate address information plays an important role in drawing a valid ICH CAHPS sample and to supporting sample patients’ ability to receive and complete the survey privately! We strongly encourage facilities to review their procedures for entering and updating patient contact information in EQRS and ensure that patient address data for October, November, and December 2025 (the sampling window for the 2026 Spring Survey) are complete and accurate.

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

Regards,
The ICH CAHPS Coordination Team

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