CMS presenters explained that target-area outlier status is based on percentile benchmarks (national 80th percentile) and showed example calculations (e.g., 2% vs. 3.3% with an 80th-percentile threshold of 2.8%).

CMS explained that clinicians participating in certain advanced APMs or qualifying participant pathways may not have clinician-level performance information publicly reported on medicare.gov or in the PDC, while participation indicators and ACO pop-up modals display group-level APM performance.

Advocates at the advisory council urged the national Parkinson's plan to establish a federal 'time‑critical' designation for levodopa medications under CMS, and to mandate a 15‑minute administration window in acute and long‑term care, plus specialized staff training. The request was framed as a patient‑safety measure after caregivers described dangerous medication timing under current rules.

HCAI recommended reporting Core 4 quality indicators at the plan/market level for 2026 because methodological differences across plans prevent consistent statewide aggregation; staff will continue to explore aggregated reporting for future snapshots.

CalPERS staff reported year‑one Quality Alignment Measure Set (QAMS) gains, roughly $7.3 million in plan paybacks, and plans to launch CalPERS‑run primary care clinics by early 2027; staff also warned provider directories contain ~40% invalid behavioral‑health listings and said access remains uneven.

CMS detailed a collaboration with CDC (NHSN) to align severe hypoglycemia digital quality measures for inpatient settings and said CMS may allow hospitals to report via the NHSN FHIR pathway to reduce provider burden and support surveillance.