MHA Releases 2026 Quality Reporting Guide To Help Hospitals Navigate Requirements

The Missouri Hospital Association’s “2026 Quality Reporting Guide” provides a road map for hospitals to understand and meet the requirements of today’s quality reporting programs.

“We created this guide to give hospitals an easy-to-use resource that simplifies an increasingly complex reporting landscape,” said Karie Untiedt, MHA’s director of quality and patient safety.

MHA aims to ensure every hospital, regardless of size or type, has the tools needed to accurately report quality measures and ultimately strengthen patient care across Missouri.

Accurate reporting remains essential to ensure patients are receiving high-quality care. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other health care partners use quality measures in different initiatives for quality improvement, pay-for-reporting and public reporting. As a result, quality reporting directly impacts hospital reimbursements and financial stability.

“Precise quality measure reporting is essential to identifying opportunities for improvement, strengthening patient outcomes and sustaining high-quality care,” Untiedt said. “Because many measures are tied to regulatory requirements and value-based payment programs, accurate reporting also impacts compliance and financial stability, allowing hospitals to reinvest in staffing, technology and services that directly enhance patient care.”

Quality reporting programs influencing inpatient, outpatient and post-acute care are included in this guide. Additionally, the guide outlines which measures are required, which are voluntary, and how each affects payment, accreditation or public reporting.

The 2026 Quality Reporting Guide helps quality teams at Missouri’s hospitals identify what to report, determine when to report it and know which systems to use. The reporting guide will be updated as final rules or program requirements change, and members will be notified of all updates.