Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model and the recently released 2025 Annual Performance Report.
Both the annual and interim performance reports are available through the iQIES system, where agencies also access their CASPER reports. The 2025 Annual Performance Report was released a few weeks ago and provides agencies with their potential payment adjustment for 2027.
It is considered a potential adjustment at this stage because the first version released is the Preview Annual Performance Report. This will be followed by the Preliminary Annual Performance Report and, ultimately, the Final Annual Performance Report. The final report is expected to be released around November 1 and will determine the payment adjustment applied to applicable claims with visits beginning January 1, 2027.
Under the HHVBP Model, payment adjustments can range from a 5% decrease to a 5% increase. Agencies should make sure they access and carefully review their Annual Performance Report so they understand the payment adjustment they can expect in 2027.
The Interim Performance Reports (IPR) were also released in July and included the first three months of OASIS data. However, that report did not yet include 2026 data for the newly implemented measures or for the claims-based and HHCAHPS measures.
Agencies will want to pay close attention to the October Interim Performance Report, which will provide a more complete picture of 2026 performance. That report is expected to include six months of OASIS data, along with the first quarter of HHCAHPS and claims-based data.
Fortunately, The Proposed Home Health Rule did not include any proposed changes to the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model for 2027. This means the HHVBP measures and structure agencies are working with in 2026 will remain the same for 2027, including the baseline year.
For agencies that may not perform as well as they had hoped in 2026, this provides another opportunity in 2027. Agencies will be working with the same measure set and comparing their performance against the same 2023 baseline year, giving them another chance to improve their results under a familiar framework.
As we finish the fourth quarter of 2026 and prepare for 2027, it is important that agencies continue making progress with their HHVBP performance. One of the key areas to review in your reports is the Care Points tab, which reflects the higher of your achievement or improvement scores for each measure and shows where those results rank nationally.
Pay particular attention to any measures with a national percentile ranking below the 50th percentile. These are the areas where your agency should be placing the greatest focus as you identify opportunities for improvement and work to strengthen your overall HHVBP performance.
Agencies should also closely monitor measures that fall within the 50th to 74th percentile, particularly if the majority of their measures are within this range. If a measure has a Care Points score below six, it indicates that your performance is closer to the 50th percentile than the 74th percentile. These measures should remain a priority as you continue working to strengthen your performance and move into higher percentile rankings.
The scores reflected on the Care Points tab are then weighted based on how much each measure contributes to your overall Total Performance Score. It is important to understand the weight of each measure and how improvements in individual areas can affect your overall HHVBP performance.
If your reports identify several areas that need improvement, reviewing these measure weights can help you prioritize your efforts. This allows you to identify the areas having the greatest impact on your Total Performance Score and determine where your agency should focus its improvement efforts first.
With payment adjustments reaching as much as 5%, the financial impact of HHVBP can be significant. It is critical that agencies understand exactly where their performance stands and identify any measures where they may be struggling. Make sure someone within your organization is regularly reviewing these results and, when opportunities for improvement are identified, put education and other corrective strategies in place as quickly as possible to strengthen performance.
OASIS measures now account for 40% of the Total Performance Score, giving agencies a significant opportunity to directly influence their HHVBP performance. Agencies can make an impact by providing ongoing education to staff on accurate OASIS completion and implementing strong quality assurance processes to review assessments as they are submitted. With OASIS representing such a substantial portion of the Total Performance Score, this is an area where focused education, monitoring, and improvement efforts can make a meaningful difference.
If you need assistance reviewing your Value-Based Purchasing results, identifying the areas that need the most attention, or developing strategies to improve your scores, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
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