The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule for Medicare Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRF) Payment Rates for fiscal year (FY) 2027.
The final rule indicates a 2.3 percent increase for IRFs. In addition to payment updates the rule finalizes the third and final year of the phase-out of the rural adjustment for IRFs transitioning from rural to urban that were reclassified due to Core-Based Statistical Area Delineations. CMS also finalizes changes to the IRF coverage rules stating that current functional status be documented at admission, the initial Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) meeting must take place on or before the fourth day of admission, and all therapies must be started within 36 hours of admission. Additionally, CMS is finalizing changes made to the timeframe for data submission from 4.5 months to 45 days beginning in FY 2029. CMS also included a summary of the comments received on the request for information on modernizing the IRF PPS methodologies for classifying patient case-mix.
Effective October 1, 2026.