Friday, April 11th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the federal Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2026 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (“IRF PPS”) Proposed Rule (CMS-1829-P) for public inspection. The proposed rule is relatively straightforward and short this year (only 95 pages total). Overall, the proposed rule would provide a modest 2.8% payment increase for IRFs in FY 2026. For the QRP, CMS proposed to remove two measures related to COVID-19 vaccination requirements beginning with the FY 2026 (CY 2024) and FY 2028 (CY 2026) IRF QRP, respectively. CMS is also proposing to remove four social determinants of health (“SDOH”) patient assessment data elements to reduce burden beginning October 1, 2025. The agency is also proposing to amend its reconsideration policy and process on which IRFs can appeal IRF QRP payment penalties and also includes four separate RFIs on the IRF QRP in general.