2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System: The Complexity Simplified

Although the proposed rule for the 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) has been released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), mastering the complexities will continue to challenge most coders and coding team members. That is why ICD10monitor producers have asked Dr. James S. Kennedy to join the upcoming edition of Talk Ten Tuesdays: to highlight potentially significant roadblocks that are likely to confront coders as they prepare to implement the new rule that becomes effective Oct. 1, 2025.

As a sidebar, Dr. Kennedy, along with nationally recognized coding authority Christine Geiger, will team up for the 2026 IPPS Masterclass series, taking place live Aug. 13, 14, and 15.

The popular weekly Internet broadcast will also feature these additional instantly recognizable panelists, who will report more news during their segments:

• CDI Report: Cheryl Ericson, Director of clinical documentation integrity (CDI) for the vaunted Brundage Group, will have the latest CDI updates.

• The Coding Report: Christine Geiger, Assistant Vice President of Acute and Post-Acute Coding Services for First Class Solutions, will report on the latest coding news.

• News Desk: Timothy Powell, ICD10monitor national correspondent, will anchor the Talk Ten Tuesdays News Desk.

• MyTalk: Angela Comfort, veteran healthcare subject-matter expert, will co-host the long-running and popular weekly Internet broadcast. Comfort is the Assistant Vice President of Revenue Integrity for Montefiore Health.