The ACC submitted written comments on June 4 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. Notable topics covered in the comment letter include:

• Support for newly proposed Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRG) for percutaneous coronary atherectomy to better align reimbursement with cost.
• Requesting new MS-DRGs to address concomitant single valve procedures with open surgical ablations.
• Support for inclusion of Medicare Advantage data into the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
• Opposing the proposed elimination of several health equity and social drivers of health measures in the Inpatient Quality Reporting system and Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).
• Suggested adjustments to TEAM, such as requesting a required referral following CABG be made to the treating cardiologist instead of the patient's primary care provider.
• Several comments on digital transition, patient information security and Medicare interoperability, including urging more time for the transition to Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standards for electronic clinical quality measures.

Read the full ACC comment letter and get more details on the proposed rule by viewing the full proposed rule text along with CMS' related press release and fact sheet.