CMS-1850-FC comment period: comments received by January 4, 2027 are assured consideration; open items are interim APC, status and payment indicators for new codes
Published November 8, 2026 · Coverage November 1–7, 2026, Pacific · Lower priority
The rule is a final rule with comment period; to be assured consideration, comments must be received by January 4, 2027. The text identifies the open items as the interim status indicator and Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) assignments (Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), comment indicator NI) and interim ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment indicators for Level II HCPCS codes effective January 1, 2027 that were not available for the proposed rule, and for codes effective October 1, 2026, to be finalized in the CY 2028 final rule.
Background
The rule revises the Medicare OPPS and ASC payment system for calendar year 2027. Most new Level II HCPCS codes effective January 1 are not released until around November, too late for the proposed rule, so, consistent with past practice, CMS invites comment on their interim assignments in the final rule and finalizes them in the following year's final rule.
Who this affects
Hospitals and ASCs billing new HCPCS codes effective October 1, 2026 or January 1, 2027.
Why it matters
Inference: hospitals billing new codes with interim assignments may comment by January 4, 2027.
Recommended action
- Review Addendum B/AA/BB items flagged NI and comment by January 4, 2027 if an assignment is wrong
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Responsible owner
- Revenue Cycle / Chargemaster
- Publication date
- 2026-11-06
- Effective date
- 2027-01-01
- Other dates
- Docket CMS-2026-2344 on regulations.gov; file code CMS-1850-FC; comments received by 2027-01-04 are assured consideration (as printed: 'by [January 4, 2027.')
Not established
No statement opening other finalized policies (340B, section 6225, EMTALA, prior authorization) to comment was found, but not every section was read for a comment solicitation, so this entry does not say that nothing else is open. The Federal Register record lists comments closing on January 4, 2027.
Sources
Complete edition and supplemental material
This article in the complete report →
Executive triage, source-coverage limitations, context and forward horizons remain in the complete report.
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