04/25/2024

SNF VBP Program Early Look Performance Score Reports: Now Available

The Early Look Performance Score Reports for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program are now available to download via the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).

Beginning in the FY 2026 Program year, the SNF VBP Program is expanding to assess performance on multiple quality measures rather than a single measure. The Early Look Performance Score Report is intended to accomplish three goals for the newly expanded SNF VBP Program:

1. Familiarize SNFs with the planned format of the official Performance Score Report that will be distributed for the FY 2026 Program year.
   
   
2. Familiarize SNFs with the scoring and payment methodology that will be applied for the FY 2026 Program year.
   
   
3. Inform SNFs of their past performance on the four quality measures adopted for the FY 2026 Program year, and model performance for the FY 2026 SNF VBP Program year using this historical data.

The Early Look Performance Score Reports are intended for informational purposes only. They do not reflect facilities’ official performance in the SNF VBP Program and will not impact facilities’ payments; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will share official performance information for the FY 2026 Program year based on updated measure data at a later date.

CMS distributes the SNF VBP Program’s confidential feedback reports through iQIES. To locate your SNF’s Early Look Performance Score Report in iQIES, please follow the instructions listed below:

1. Log into iQIES using your Health Care Quality Information Systems (HCQIS) Access Roles and Profile (HARP) user ID and password. (If you do not have a HARP account, you may register for a HARP ID.)
   
   
2. In the Reports menu, select My Reports.
   
   
3. From the My Reports page, locate the MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports folder. Select the MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports link to open the folder.
   
   
4. Here you can see the list of reports available for download. Locate the desired SNF VBP Program Early Look Performance Score Report (file name: SNFVBP_[CCN]_FY26_ELR_Apr2024.xlsx).
   
   
5. Once located, select More next to the SNF VBP Program Early Look Performance Score Report and the report will be downloaded through your browser. Once downloaded, open the file to view your facility’s report.

For additional questions about accessing your SNF’s report, which can only be accessed in iQIES, please contact the QIES/iQIES Service Center by phone at (800) 339-9313 or by email at iqies@cms.hhs.gov.

For more information about the SNF VBP Program Early Look Performance Score Reports, including additional resources like a summary fact sheet and user guide, please visit the CMS website.    

For any additional questions, please contact the SNF VBP Program Help Desk at SNFVBP@rti.org.