Creation of the Fiscal Year Cost Report Files

Purpose

The Medicare cost report files are created by Fiscal Year. The definition used to create the fiscal year files vary depending on the provider type.

Current Version Date:
12/09/2016

Note: This article requires the Medicare Cost Report Data for Hospitals: Structure to provide context.

The CMS cost report fiscal year files are usually defined using the federal fiscal year that begins 10/1 and ends 9/30 of the following year. Renal Dialysis facilities and Community Mental Health Centers differ and define the CMS fiscal year between 1/1 and 12/31 of the calendar year. CMS assigns each cost report to a CMS fiscal year file based on the individual provider’s cost report begin or end date, depending on provider type. See below for the definitions for each provider type.

Provider CMS Fiscal Year Provider's Cost Report Date
Hospitals 10/1/YYYY-9/30/YYYY+1 FY Begin Date
Hospices 10/1/YYYY-9/30/YYYY+1 FY Begin Date
Skilled Nursing Facilities 10/1/YYYY-9/30/YYYY+1 FY Begin Date
Home Health Agencies 10/1/YYYY-9/30/YYYY+1 FY Begin Date
Health Clinics 10/1/YYYY-9/30/YYYY+1 FY Begin Date
Renal Dialysis Facilities 1/1/YYYY-12/31/YYYY FY End Date
Community Mental Health Center 1/1/YYYY-12/31/YYYY FY End Date

For example, if a hospital provider’s cost report fiscal year begin date is 7/1/16, then CMS will assign this to the CMS fiscal year (FY) 2016 file because 7/1/16 is between 10/1/2015 and 9/30/2016, which is considered FY 2016.