Comment on CMS-2026-1256-0002

Summary: The American Psychiatric Association (APA) opposes the inclusion of the proposed Emergency Care Access and Timeliness metric in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, arguing that it would unfairly penalize psychiatric units for systemic issues like lack of community beds and inadequate outpatient funding. They request that psychiatric units be excluded from this measure and instead advocate for increased reimbursement for outpatient services and specialized behavioral health units.