Free tool · Hospice
Hospice Rate Calculator (FY 2027 Per Diem Rates)
See the Medicare rate for each hospice level of care, adjusted by your wage index, with or without quality reporting. Add your days to estimate revenue. Free, with no signup.
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The calculator
Wage-adjusted hospice per diem rates
Pick a fiscal year, enter your hospice wage index and see the Medicare rate for each level of care. Add your days to estimate revenue. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.
Your result
Choose a fiscal year, enter your wage index, then select Calculate rates.
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These are national rates adjusted by the wage index you enter. Your MAC's claim payment is final. Book a free 20-minute call.
National rates, effective October 1, 2026
FY 2027 hospice rates at a glance
For care on or after October 1, 2026, the national rates for hospices that submit quality data are $236.33 a day for routine home care days 1 to 60, $186.33 for day 61 and later, $1,726.16 for 24 hours of continuous home care ($71.92 an hour), $545.93 for inpatient respite care and $1,231.51 for general inpatient care. The payment update is 2.3 percent. Hospices that do not submit the required quality data get a 4 percentage point smaller update, a net decrease of 1.7 percent.
These come from CMS Transmittal 13976, dated September 30, 2026. It replaced an August transmittal after CMS corrected a technical error in the FY 2027 wage index, which changed the national rates by a few cents. The tables in the August 3, 2026 Federal Register rule show the earlier figures, so use the September 30 numbers for billing.
What you bill
The four levels of care and their revenue codes
Medicare pays a hospice a daily rate for every day a patient is under the hospice benefit, set by the level of care provided that day. For the billing detail, see our hospice billing guide.
- Routine home care, revenue code 0651: the default level, paid at a higher rate for days 1 to 60 of an election and a lower rate from day 61.
- Continuous home care, revenue code 0652: at least 8 hours of mostly nursing care a day during a crisis, paid hourly. The full rate is for 24 hours.
- Inpatient respite care, revenue code 0655: short inpatient stays to relieve the caregiver, up to 5 days at a time.
- General inpatient care, revenue code 0656: inpatient care for pain or symptoms that cannot be managed at home.
Separately, a Service Intensity Add-on is paid for direct visits by a registered nurse or social worker in the last 7 days of life. It is paid at the continuous home care hourly rate for the time spent, up to 4 hours a day. This calculator does not include it.
From national rate to your rate
How wage index adjustment works
Each national rate is split into a labor portion and a non-labor portion. Only the labor portion is multiplied by your area's hospice wage index. The labor share is 66.0 percent for routine home care, 75.2 percent for continuous home care, 61.0 percent for inpatient respite care and 63.5 percent for general inpatient care. In a formula: adjusted rate = labor portion x wage index + non-labor portion.
The wage index is set by the county where the patient receives care, through its CBSA or statewide rural area. A few counties use a special 5-digit transition code. CMS publishes the values in the hospice wage index file for each fiscal year; it is not printed in the Federal Register. Enter the value for your county. A wage index above 1.0000 raises your rate, and a value below 1.0000 lowers it. Because CMS limits any one-year decrease to 5 percent, values move gradually.
This calculator uses the labor and non-labor dollar amounts printed in the CMS rate tables, which gives the same result as applying the labor share to the rounded national rate.
A hospice with a 1.0500 wage index
Worked example
Take FY 2027 routine home care for days 1 to 60. CMS splits the $236.33 national rate into $155.98 of labor portion and $80.35 of non-labor portion. With a wage index of 1.0500, the labor portion becomes $155.98 x 1.0500 = $163.78. Add the non-labor portion of $80.35 and the adjusted rate is $244.13 a day.
The other levels at 1.0500 are $192.48 for routine home care from day 61, $1,791.06 for 24 hours of continuous home care ($74.63 an hour), $562.58 for inpatient respite care and $1,270.61 for general inpatient care. A hospice with 30 days at the first rate would bill $7,323.90 for those days. If the same hospice did not submit its quality data, the routine home care rate for days 1 to 60 would be $234.58 instead of $244.13.
Limits of an estimate
What this calculator does not do
It uses national rates and the wage index you enter. It does not apply sequestration, the Service Intensity Add-on, the aggregate cap or the inpatient day limit, and it does not know your patients' lengths of stay. Your MAC pays the claim. Use it for budgeting, then check the cap with the hospice cap calculator, and read about the hospice aggregate cap. For the cost report side, see hospice cost report preparation and hospice accounting services.
Where the rates come from (checked October 19, 2026)
Sources and disclaimer
- CMS Transmittal 13976 (Pub 100-04, CR 14557), FY 2027 hospice payment rates, September 30, 2026
- CMS Transmittal 13331 (CR 14190), FY 2026 hospice payment rates, July 31, 2025
- Federal Register, FY 2027 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update final rule, 2026-15686 (GovInfo, August 3, 2026)
- CMS FY 2027 hospice final rule fact sheet (CMS-1851-F)
- CMS hospice wage index files by fiscal year
- CMS MLN Matters MM14190, Hospice Payments: FY 2026 Update (labor shares)
This calculator provides general information and an estimate, not billing, tax or legal advice. It does not replace the current CMS rates or your MAC's payment. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
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FAQ
Hospice rate calculator questions, answered
Still have questions? Ask them on a free 20-minute call.
What are the FY 2027 hospice payment rates?
National rates for hospices that submit quality data: routine home care $236.33 for days 1 to 60 and $186.33 from day 61, continuous home care $1,726.16 for 24 hours ($71.92 an hour), inpatient respite care $545.93 and general inpatient care $1,231.51. They apply to care from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, before wage index adjustment (CMS Transmittal 13976).
What were the FY 2026 hospice rates?
Routine home care $230.83 for days 1 to 60 and $181.94 from day 61, continuous home care $1,674.29 for 24 hours, inpatient respite care $532.48 and general inpatient care $1,199.86, for care from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 (CMS Transmittal 13331). The calculator lets you pick either year.
Why do some sources show $236.35 instead of $236.33?
CMS published the FY 2027 rule on August 3, 2026, then found a technical error in the wage index and recalculated it. Transmittal 13976 of September 30, 2026 replaced the August transmittal with corrected rates. Use $236.33 and the other September 30 figures.
What are the hospice revenue codes?
Routine home care is 0651, continuous home care is 0652, inpatient respite care is 0655 and general inpatient care is 0656. Each line also carries a HCPCS code for where the care took place. See the hospice billing guide for details.
How is the hospice wage index used?
Only the labor portion of each rate is multiplied by the wage index for the area where care is given. The adjusted rate is the labor portion times the wage index plus the non-labor portion. The labor share is 66.0 percent for routine home care, 75.2 percent for continuous home care, 61.0 percent for inpatient respite care and 63.5 percent for general inpatient care.
Where do I find my hospice wage index?
On CMS's hospice wage index page, in the file for the fiscal year. Look up the CBSA or statewide rural area for the county where the patient receives care. A few counties use a special 5-digit code starting with 50. Your MAC's hospice pricer uses the same values.
What is the rate if we do not submit quality data?
The update is reduced by 4 percentage points, so the FY 2027 update is -1.7 percent instead of 2.3 percent. National FY 2027 rates for those hospices are $227.09 for routine home care days 1 to 60, $179.04 from day 61, $1,658.66 for 24 hours of continuous home care, $524.58 for respite and $1,183.35 for general inpatient. Choose No in the calculator to see your adjusted rates.
How is continuous home care paid?
By the hour. The full rate covers 24 hours, so the hourly rate is the full rate divided by 24. FY 2027 national: $71.92 an hour. A day of continuous home care requires at least 8 hours of care, mostly nursing, in a crisis. Enter your continuous home care hours, not days, in the calculator.
Is the Service Intensity Add-on included?
No. The add-on pays for registered nurse or social worker visits in the last 7 days of life at the continuous home care hourly rate, up to 4 hours a day. It is billed on top of routine home care and is not in this calculator.
Does this include sequestration or the hospice cap?
No. Sequestration, the aggregate cap and the 20 percent inpatient day limit all change what you keep. The FY 2027 aggregate cap is $36,174.75 per beneficiary. Use the hospice cap calculator to check it.
Can you review our hospice revenue and cost report?
Yes. Book a free 20-minute call. We prepare hospice cost reports and look at cap exposure as a separate service.
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