The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the new Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool to replace the Hospice Item Set (HIS) as part of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP).

HOPE was finalized in the FY 2025 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule and is slated to take effect on October 1, 2025. Until HOPE takes effect, only the HIS is required to be submitted to CMS.

While the HIS is a standardized mechanism for abstracting medical record data, it is not a patient assessment tool. CMS’ goal for HOPE is to inform the plan of care and be more comprehensive than the HIS by capturing patient and family care needs in real time and at additional timepoints during the hospice stay.

By introducing these additional timepoints, referred to as HOPE Update Visits (HUVs), CMS will collect patient-level data during the first 30 days after a beneficiary elects hospice. Depending on the length of the hospice stay, hospice providers will be required to submit up to two HUVs, each at specified timeframes. The initial assessment and HUVs may trigger an in-person symptom follow-up visit, based on symptom severity, within two calendar days of the assessment.

CMS has advised that the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) will be used for HOPE data submission.

HOPE Resources

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