Skilled Nursing · Reference

PDPM Rates

The FY 2026 SNF PPS unadjusted federal per-diem base rates, how the daily rate is assembled from the five PDPM components, and the variable per-diem schedule.

FY 2026 unadjusted federal per-diem rates

Eff. Oct 1 2025

Base rates per PDPM component, before any adjustments. Each component is then multiplied by the resident's case-mix index (CMI) for that component; the labor-related share is wage-index adjusted; the variable per-diem schedule and SNF VBP are applied. Pick a column to highlight.

Component	Urban	Rural
Physical Therapy (PT) Case-mix · variable per diem	$75.73	$86.33
Occupational Therapy (OT) Case-mix · variable per diem	$70.49	$79.29
Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) Case-mix · flat	$28.28	$35.63
Nursing Case-mix · flat	$132.00	$126.12
Non-Therapy Ancillary (NTA) Case-mix · variable per diem	$99.59	$95.15
Non-Case-Mix Flat · room & board, capital	$118.21	$120.40

The five case-mix components (PT, OT, SLP, Nursing, NTA) are each paid at base × component CMI. The Non-Case-Mix amount is added flat. CMI values were unchanged from FY 2025; only the dollar base rates moved with the +3.2% update.

Source: CMS FY 2026 SNF PPS Final Rule (CMS-1827-F), Federal Register 2025-14679, eff. Oct 1 2025. Verify against the CMS SNF PPS source before billing.

How the daily rate is built

1 · Classify the resident into one group per componentPT · OT · SLP · NUR · NTA

2 · Multiply each base rate by that component's CMIbase × CMI

3 · Wage-index adjust the labor-related share of each component× CBSA WI

4 · Apply the variable per-diem factor (PT/OT, NTA)× VPD

5 · Add the components + Non-Case-Mix amount= per diem

6 · Apply SNF VBP adjustment (2% withhold, redistributed)× VBP

A 2% SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) reduction applies separately if required quality data isn't reported.

Open the PDPM Calculator →

Variable per-diem (VPD) schedule

PT and OT taper over the stay; NTA is front-loaded; SLP, Nursing and Non-Case-Mix stay flat.

Component	Adjustment over the stay
PT & OT	Days 1–20 = 100%, then −2% every 7 days (98% days 21–27, 96% 28–34 …) down to 76% by day 100
NTA	Days 1–3 = 300% (×3), days 4+ = 100%
SLP · Nursing · Non-Case-Mix	100% flat for the entire stay

VPD per the PDPM payment methodology; day ranges per the SNF PPS final rule.