January 2027 home health grouper uses version 08.0.27
Oct 4, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0151 · Published 2026-10-04 · Version 2 · Final
CMS specifies home-health Grouper08.0.27 for qualifying January 2027 claim From dates, with January 4 implementation.
What happened
CMS’s September 30 Transmittal 13974, CR 14631, supplies the January 2027 home-health Grouper update. version 08.0.27 applies to claim From dates on or after January 1,2027, with contractor implementation January 4. The specific business requirement covers home-health type-of-bill 032x claims other than 32A or 320. The claim From date controls the version selection described here; the contractor installation date does not shift applicability to services beginning January 4.
The Grouper assigns a Home Health Resource Group using reported claim and patient-assessment information, including diagnoses. CMS explains that annual diagnosis-code changes and later quarterly policy or code updates can require new software, and identifies its Grouper webpage for the software and documentation. As of October 4, this is an issued technical instruction for a future release, not proof that a vendor has installed it or a statement of every final payment-policy detail. Testing should use the correct claim types and boundary dates while reconciling the assessment and diagnosis inputs used by the software.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Operationally relevant
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
- Affected functions
- IT, Coding, Revenue Cycle, Clinical Operations
- Responsible owner
- IT
- Recorded date
- 2027-01-01
- Date type
- effective
Why it matters
Version and date selection can change grouping even when software installation itself succeeds.
Recommended action
Schedule the vendor release and test qualifying claim types and From dates around January 1, including assessment and diagnosis inputs, before January 4 contractor implementation.
Implementation playbook
- Schedule vendor installation and regression checks for claim From dates straddling January 1, and reconcile grouping to CMS documentation. IT · Due 2027-01-01
- Record the applicability assessment and validate the affected workflow with its operational owner. This is an internal review target, not an additional statutory deadline. Compliance · Due 2026-10-12
Sources
- CMS Transmittal R13974CPOfficial · Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · 2026-09-30 · Source review 2026-10-04
Complete edition and supplemental material
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