Hospitals in CMS's outpatient quality reporting program must report its Emergency Care Access & Timeliness measure from the 2028 reporting period, after a voluntary year in 2027, and CMS removes its median ED time for discharged patients (OP-18b) and left without being seen (OP-22) from the 2028 reporting period.
2028
the first reporting year in which hospitals in CMS's outpatient quality reporting program must report its Emergency Care Access & Timeliness measure
Hospitals in CMS's outpatient quality reporting program must report its Emergency Care Access & Timeliness measure from the 2028 reporting period, after a voluntary year in 2027, and CMS removes its median ED time for discharged patients (OP-18b) and left without being seen (OP-22) from the 2028 reporting period.
CMS will not publish the voluntary 2027 data; public reporting starts with the 2028 data. The new measure counts boarding over 4 hours, waits over 1 hour for a room, patients who leave before evaluation and ED stays over 8 hours.
Source: CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448 (opens in a new tab), Summary of major provisions, Hospital OQR Program; section XV.B.1. Verified October 2026.
Related charts
- From research
CMS replaces two ED measures with a boarding-and-wait measure required from 2028
CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448 - From research
California hospitals with longer ED times tended to have more patients leave unseen
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release) - From research
Transfers out of California EDs took a median 398 minutes, 111 more than nationally
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release); CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release) - From research
California's discharged ED patients: median 174 minutes; 11 states and DC were longer
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release); CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release)
Sources for the figures above: CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448 (opens in a new tab); federalregister.gov (opens in a new tab).
Related facts
October 2025
the Care Compare release from which CMS removed its ED boarding measure (ED-2)
CMS removed its ED boarding measure for admitted patients (ED-2) from Care Compare with the October 2025 release, after it retired the measure's data collection.
Source: CMS, Hospital Downloadable Database Data Dictionary, July 2026.
KentApplied144 min
median minutes in the ED for patients sent home at low-volume EDs, California, October 2024 to September 2025
At California's low-volume EDs, patients sent home spent a median of 144 minutes in the ED, against 123 minutes at low-volume EDs nationally, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (CMS measure OP-18b, low volume group).
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release).
KentApplied69 to 413 min
median minutes in the ED for patients sent home, fastest to slowest of 267 California hospitals, October 2024 to September 2025
The 267 California hospitals with a reported ED time for patients sent home ranged from 69 to 413 minutes, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, and the middle half fell between 146.5 and 208.5 minutes (CMS measure OP-18b, by Kent Applied's count).
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release).
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: CMS, Hospital Downloadable Database Data Dictionary, July 2026 (opens in a new tab); CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab).
Book a 20-minute call
If a number like this one matters to your organization, talk it through with Tyler Kent.
Prefer to skip the call? Get a written proposal
Or email tyler@kentapplied.com.