The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a proposed new Advance Care Planning (ACP) quality measure, MUC2025-020, and is accepting public comments through January 6, 2026.
The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) supports the proposed measure and views it as an important step toward strengthening advance care planning across care settings and patient populations. NPHI believes the proposal appropriately recognizes the role of advance care planning in ensuring patient preferences are understood and respected, particularly during serious illness and hospitalization.
CMS’s proposed measure would track the percentage of adults ages 18 and older who experience one or more inpatient encounters and have documentation in their medical record showing that advance care planning was completed or discussed. CMS is considering the measure for use across multiple federal quality programs, including the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (QRP), Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) QRP, SNF Value-Based Purchasing (VBP), Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR), and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).
If finalized, MUC2025-020 would expand upon the current ACP measure (NQF #0326), which focuses on adults age 65 and older and applies primarily to non-emergency settings such as inpatient, ambulatory, and nursing home care. While both measures require documentation of an advance care plan, identification of a surrogate decision-maker, or confirmation that ACP was discussed but declined or not possible, the new proposal broadens eligibility to younger adults and places a stronger focus on inpatient encounters, including post-acute care settings.
CMS Seeks Public Comment on New Advance Care Planning Measure
CMS is encouraging stakeholders to submit comments in support of the measure to help inform its inclusion in Medicare quality programs. Submitting a comment is a simple process that requires only a name, organization, and brief statement of support through the CMS measure website. You can submit comments here.
Sample comment language (which may be modified):
I support the proposed Advance Care Planning measure MUC2025-020. Expanding ACP measurement to include adults ages 18 and older and focusing on inpatient encounters recognizes that serious illness can affect individuals of any age. Advance care planning is essential to ensuring that patient preferences are known and respected, particularly during hospitalizations when individuals may be unable to make decisions for themselves.
