CMS opens CY 2027 Medicare Advantage provider-directory preview and sets September 18 attestation deadline

What happened

CMS’s September 2 memorandum opens the 2027 Medicare Advantage provider-directory preview in HPMS on September 8, with continuing availability and feedback until further notice. The September 4 final technical guide, version 1.5, separately gives September 18 as the annual attestation deadline and production-ready-data target before the planned October 1 release. Both September milestones remain ahead at the coverage cutoff.

The guide covers specified individual MA plans and calls for public machine-readable or FHIR-based JSON, correct provider-to-contract/plan/segment relationships and attestation by an authorized CEO, CFO or COO. Plans must update information within thirty days of learning of a change. Daily checks distinguish fatal submission failures, record-level errors and warnings; fatal submissions are withheld, while warnings may remain displayed. The preview lets a plan test practitioner and facility NPIs, but technical validation cannot establish that the provider information itself is accurate.

Why it matters

Annual attestation, technical validity and continuing network-data accuracy are separate controls. Passing one does not satisfy the others.

Implementation playbook

1. Confirm HPMS preview access for every affected MA contract and test representative practitioner and facility NPIs across all plan and segment combinations. Any intermediate preparation date is an internal target; it does not replace the source’s operative deadline. Managed Care · Due 2026-09-11
2. Validate each public index and constituent JSON or FHIR file from an external network, including syntax, authentication-free access, compression, HTTP headers, file limits and contract-plan-segment relationships. Any intermediate preparation date is an internal target; it does not replace the source’s operative deadline. IT · Due 2026-09-14
3. Review HPMS validation results and correct fatal errors, missing plan segments and stale provider data before the production target. Any intermediate preparation date is an internal target; it does not replace the source’s operative deadline. Provider Enrollment · Due 2026-09-16
4. Route the final evidence to an authorized CEO, CFO or COO and complete the CY 2027 provider-directory attestation in HPMS. Any intermediate preparation date is an internal target; it does not replace the source’s operative deadline. Executive Leadership · Due 2026-09-18

Related coverage

The annual officer attestation and 30-day update rule are compliance controls for affected Medicare Advantage organizations. Compliance Sweep →

Sources

• Contract Year 2027 Provider Directory Plan PreviewOfficial · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026-09-02 · Source review 2026-09-10
• CMS HPMS Memos for WK 1 September 1-4, 2026 bundle, including the September 4 technical guideOfficial · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026-09-04 · Source review 2026-09-10
• CMS HPMS Memos for WK 1 September 1-4, 2026 archive pageOfficial · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026-09-04 · Source review 2026-09-10