Comment on CMS-2026-1256-0002

Summary: Three hospitals within the Infirmary Health System (Infirmary Health System, Inc., Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, and North Baldwin Infirmary) are submitting comments in support of the Low Quartile Reclassification Mechanism. They argue that the 50-mile proximity criterion is empirically justified by commuting data and that an unblended payment methodology is necessary to reflect the actual regional wages hospitals must pay to recruit staff in labor-shortage areas.