About the Survey


The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey was designed to measure and assess the experiences of patients who died while receiving hospice care, as well as the experiences of their informal primary caregivers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the CAHPS Hospice Survey with input from many stakeholders, including other government agencies, industry stakeholders, consumer groups, and other key individuals and organizations involved in hospice care.

The standardized CAHPS Hospice Survey instrument can be used to calculate the following quality measures: Communication with Family, Getting Timely Help, Treating Patient with Respect, Emotional and Spiritual Support, Help for Pain and Symptoms, Care Preferences, Training Family to Care for Patient, Rating of this Hospice, and Willing to Recommend this Hospice.

The CAHPS Hospice Survey Fact Sheet contains an overview of the CAHPS Hospice Survey program, information regarding the CAHPS Hospice Survey measures and information for survey vendor participation. To view or download the CAHPS Hospice Survey Fact Sheet, please click here.

Please use the following citation when referencing materials on this website: www.hospicecahpssurvey.org Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD. Month, Date, Year the page was accessed.

Resources

Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Final Rule

CMS issued the final rule to update the Medicare hospice wage index, Medicare hospice payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The final rule has been posted and is available at:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/05/2025-14782/medicare-program-fy-2026-hospice-wage-index-and-payment-rate-update-and-hospice-quality-reporting

CAHPS Hospice Survey 2021 Mode Experiment Summary

In 2021, CMS conducted a mode experiment to test a web-mail mode, a revised survey version, and modifications to survey administration protocols designed to improve overall response rates. An overview of the design and results of this experiment is available here.

Hospice Quality Reporting Program

The Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Web site provides consumer and provider information regarding the HQRP, mandated by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. For more information, please click here.

CAHPS Hospice Survey Technical Expert Panel Summary

The CAHPS Hospice Survey Project Team convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) in July 2020 to discuss the current CAHPS Hospice Survey instrument and possible enhancements to the instrument. The summary of the meeting is available here.

Hospice Experience of Care Survey: Development and Field Test Report

The Hospice Experience of Care Survey: Development and Field Test Report contains a brief summary of the development and testing the CAHPS Hospice Survey, which was referred to as the Hospice Experience Survey during the field test. National implementation of the CAHPS Hospice Survey began on January 1, 2015.

 

This page was last modified on 08/13/2025.