Removal of Facility Commitment to Health Equity and Patient Social Drivers of Health Attestations from EQRS Patient Registry

December 30, 2025

Effective December 31, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is removing the Health Equity attestation and the Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) Patient Screening attestation fields from the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Reporting System (EQRS) Patient Registry. The Facility Commitment to Health Equity (FCHE) and two patient SDOH measures are also being removed from the End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Improvement Program (ESRD QIP) starting in calendar year 2025, as finalized in the CY 2026 ESRD PPS Final Rule (see: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/24/2025-20681/medicare-program-end-stage-renal-disease-prospective-payment-system-payment-for-renal-dialysis).

Additionally, FCHE and SDOH attestation data already in EQRS will be removed from data extracts available to users in early 2026 while the Health Risk Assessment (HRA) Dashboard within the Reports Dashboard section of EQRS will be discontinued on December 31, 2025.

For assistance with EQRS technical issues, please contact the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) Service Center. The CCSQ Service Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time and can be reached via phone at 866-288-8912, email at qnetsupport-esrd@cms.hhs.gov, or online at the CCSQ Support Center.

For assistance with general EQRS and ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) questions, please contact the ESRD QIP Team via the QualityNet Q&A Tool.

NHSN Submission Deadlines for Quarter 3 2025 ESRD QIP Data

December 22, 2025

Outpatient hemodialysis facilities participating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) must submit their Quarter 3 Calendar Year (CY) 2025 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data by December 31, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). Quarter 3 2025 data cover data from July 1, 2025, through September 30, 2025, for the following ESRD QIP measures:

• NHSN Bloodstream Infection (BSI) in Hemodialysis Patients
• COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel (HCP)

At each quarterly reporting deadline, NHSN takes a snapshot of your facility’s data and creates a permanent data file which is used to create the annual CMS ESRD QIP Final Compliance File. New or revised data entered into NHSN after 11:59 p.m. PT on December 31, 2025, will not be reflected in the Quarter 3 permanent data file used for the CMS QIP Final Compliance File.

Please note that if the last day of the month falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline will occur on the next federal business day.

For questions about NHSN, contact the NHSN Help Desk via the NHSN-ServiceNow Customer Service Portal or via email at NHSN@CDC.gov.

For assistance with general EQRS and ESRD QIP questions, please contact the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) Team via the QualityNet Q&A Tool.

CY 2026 ESRD PPS Proposed Rule and PY 2026 Preview Period Webinar

July 1, 2025

Please reserve Tuesday, July 15, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time for the CY 2026 ESRD PPS Proposed Rule and PY 2026 Preview Period Webinar. This event will describe details of the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule that relates directly to the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP). This webinar will also overview the Payment Year (PY) 2026 Preview Period and important actions dialysis facilities should take before it ends on August 15, 2025.

Click HERE to Register

Sincerely,

The ESRD QPS Team