The Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) — a Microsoft Excel-based report that provides provider-specific Medicare data statistics to help prevent improper payments — was abruptly paused in January 2024. At the close of 2023, the PEPPER website was taken offline, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) later announced that it would stop distributing the reports for all provider types while the Agency worked to improve their quality and accessibility.

Now, the PEPPER website is live once again. A PEPPER Distribution Schedule has been posted, though it is still under construction, and no specific date has been set for when home health agencies and hospices will receive updated reports.

CMS has informed our partners at the National Alliance for Care at Home that more information will be available in Fall 2024. HCAF will monitor the distribution schedule closely and share updates with Medicare providers as soon as they are available.