ICH CAHPS Announcements

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Only One Week before the Deadline to Submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2026 Fall Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 24, 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 Fall 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 ET on August 31, 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 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 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.

Only One Week before the Deadline to Authorize a Survey Vendor for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 24, 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 Fall Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM ET on August 31, 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 Fall Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2026 Fall Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2026 Spring 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 2026 Spring 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 Fall Survey on the ICH CAHPS website by the August 31, 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 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 "2026 Fall Survey."
Do not enter an end date for your survey vendor unless you know that you will not be using this vendor for the 2027 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:

No changes to vendor authorizations will be accepted for the 2026 Fall Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2026.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2026 Fall Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this August 31, 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.

Reminder: The Deadline to submit the ICH CAHPS Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form for the 2026 Fall Survey is August 31, 2026
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 5, 2026

Authorizing a Survey Vendor for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey
Facility Participation RequirementsPosted August 5, 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 Fall Survey must update their vendor authorization on the ICH CAHPS website by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2026.

If your organization will continue to use the same survey vendor that was used to administer the 2026 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 2026 Fall Survey; OR
Your facility is switching to a different survey vendor to administer the 2026 ICH CAHPS Fall Survey; OR
Your facility entered the 2026 Spring Survey as the last survey period for which the vendor would administer the survey when you originally submitted the vendor authorization form.

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 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 "2026 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 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 Fall Survey after 5:00 PM Eastern Time on August 31, 2026.
If a facility has closed or will be closing and knows it will not be participating in the 2026 Fall Survey, please request that your survey vendor submit a Vendor Facility Closing Attestation Form on the ICH CAHPS website by this August 31, 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.

ICH CAHPS Survey Composite Measures Beginning with the Revised 2026 Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 28, 2026

Beginning with the 2026 Spring Survey administration, to reduce patient burden, the ICH CAHPS Survey was revised to contain fewer questions. The changes to the survey impact both 1) the composites and ratings that are publicly reported on Care Compare on Medicare.gov, and 2) the patient-mix variables that will be used to create the publicly reported scores.

The Care Compare October 2026 Refresh will contain data from the 2025 Spring and 2025 Fall Surveys, which both used the original survey. However, beginning with the April 2027 Refresh, the ICH CAHPS Survey data reported on Care Compare will look different:

Nephrologists’ Communications and Caring (NCC) composite measure: This composite measure will no longer be reported.
Quality of Dialysis Center Care and Operations (QDCCO): This composite measure is made up of 4 fewer questions for a total of 13, and question numbers making up this composite will be different.
Providing Information to Patients (PIP): This composite measure will remain the same but question numbers making up this composite will be different.
Rating of Nephrologists: This global rating will no longer be reported.
Rating of Dialysis Center Staff: This global rating will remain.
Rating of Dialysis Center: This global rating will remain.

A document listing the new question numbers for the QDCCO and PIP composite measures can be found here: https://ichcahps.org/Survey-and-Protocols.

In addition to the changes in the composites and ratings being reported, the set of patient-mix variables used to create publicly reported scores will change. For the April 2027 Refresh, 2025 Fall Survey scores will be recalculated using the new set of patient-mix variables so that they match the 2026 Spring Survey scores. The document, “Coefficients & Star Ratings for Current Data on Care Compare on Medicare.gov,” which is available in the website Quick Links box, will be updated before the April 2027 Refresh to reflect the new patient-mix information.

We encourage vendors and facilities to review these updates to become familiar with the revised measures and reporting approach.

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

Reminder: Only One Week before the Data Submission Deadline for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 22, 2026

The deadline for submitting data files from the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 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.

Reminder: Only 2 Weeks before the Data Submission Deadline for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 15, 2026

As a reminder, the deadline for submitting data files from the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey to the Data Center is at 5:00 PM ET on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 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. As a reminder, due to the survey revisions implemented for 2026 Spring, we want to remind vendors to use the revised XML data layout file and that additional QC checks are strongly encouraged in addition to their standard pre-submission QC procedures; please see previous emails about implementing additional QC 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 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey
Data SubmissionsPosted July 8, 2026

As a reminder, data collection for the 2026 ICH CAHPS Spring Survey ends on Friday, July 10, 2026. 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, 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.

Lastly, due to the survey revisions implemented for Spring 2026, we want to remind vendors to ensure they are using the revised XML data layout file and that additional QC checks are strongly encouraged in addition to their standard pre-submission QC procedures. These checks should include validation of mail and CATI systems, review of the revised race question, use of the XML Schema Validation Tool and Data Submission Tool to verify data outputs, and comparison of response frequencies for unchanged questions against prior survey data to identify potential issues. For more information on additional QC checks that vendors are encouraged to implement, please see the memo posted on the ICH CAHPS website on May 18, 2026: Updated ICH CAHPS Data Submission and XML Schema Validation Tools Available

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.

The 2026 ICH CAHPS Coordination Team Annual Review (CTAR) Newsletter
Other AnnouncementsPosted July 7, 2026

The ICH CAHPS Team has published the 2026 edition of the ICH CAHPS Coordination Team Annual Review (CTAR). As a reminder, this newsletter is a way to provide in-center hemodialysis facilities and survey vendors with helpful ICH CAHPS information.

The CTAR is now posted on the ICH CAHPS website annually every July. You can navigate to the 2026 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 CTAR does not replace any source of information currently on the ICH CAHPS website; instead, it highlights important information for readers every summer. We encourage you to visit the ICH CAHPS website or reach out to the Coordination Team for more information on the items mentioned in this newsletter. And as always, 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.

Proposed ESRD Prospective Payment System Rule for Calendar Year 2027
Information for Dialysis FacilitiesPosted July 6, 2026

The ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule for calendar year 2027, which was published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2026, is now available here.

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