CMS Corrects FY 2028 SNF Value-Based Purchasing Performance Standards

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 05/26/2026 11:27:13
• In: Quality/Regulatory

CMS has issued a correction to the Fiscal Year 2028 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program performance standards — and the good news is that no action is required from facilities.

The correction applies specifically to the Discharge Function Score for SNFs measure, one of eight measures used in the FY 2028 SNF VBP Program. CMS identified an error that had incorrectly excluded 155 facilities from the baseline calculation. Fixing that error slightly adjusted the benchmark and achievement threshold for FY 2028.

What changed:

Standard	Original	Updated
Benchmark	0.80879	0.81052
Achievement Threshold	0.41935	0.41748

The updated standards will be applied to FY 2028 scoring and payment calculations. This correction does not affect FY 2027 or any prior program year.

Bottom line for SNFs: Nothing to do now, nothing to do later. CMS will apply the corrected standards on the backend when FY 2028 calculations are run.

Questions? Reach out to the SNF VBP Help Desk at SNFVBPquestions@cms.hhs.gov.

 
Staff contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org