Short-term Acute Care Hospitals PEPPER will be available via PEPPER Resources Portal at https://pepper-file.cbrpepper.org.

Current PEPPER User's Guide:

• Short-Term Acute Care PEPPER User’s Guide (PDF, Limited Release Edition)

PEPPER Training Sessions

• March 2022 ST PEPPER Review: This webinar includes the history/background of PEPPER, a high-level review of the target areas, a walk-through of a sample PEPPER, and guidance for accessing the PEPPER. Download the PowerPoint slides (PDF), transcript (PDF) or the Q&As (PDF) for this PEPPER update.
• Access a complete series of PEPPER training sessions, available as “chapters” for ease of access. A review of a sample ST PEPPER is also available.
• New ST PEPPER Format: This session reviews changes to the ST PEPPER for greater accessibility, cleaner presentation and improved readability. Download the PowerPoint slides (PDF) or the transcript (PDF) for this PEPPER recording.

Data Resources

• Target Area Analysis
• Top 20 Medical DRGs for Same- and One-day Stays
• Top 20 Surgical DRGs for Same- and One-day Stays
• State Target Area Analysis
• State Top 20 Medical DRGs for Same- and One-day Stays
• State Top 20 Surgical DRGs for Same- and One-day Stays
• National High Outlier Ranking Report Graph
• Peer Group Bar Charts

Demonstration PEPPER:

• Demonstration PEPPER version Q4FY22 (XLSX).

Jurisdictions:

• View a list of the 12 MAC jurisdictions and the number of hospitals in each jurisdiction in total and by state for PEPPER version Q4FY22 (XLSX).

ST PEPPER TESTIMONIALs

• Learn how a Pennsylvania-based hospital system (PDF) uses PEPPER to support compliance risk assessment.
• Learn how a Massachusetts hospital (PDF) monitors SNF-qualifying admissions using PEPPER.
• Learn how a Kentucky hospital (PDF) identified underpayments with the help of their PEPPER.

Other Resources:

• History of Target Area Changes (PDF, updated 03/02/2022): This document identifies revisions to existing target areas that have been implemented for each respective release since the Q4FY22 release. It includes a description of the revision and the expected impact in terms of the number of providers that have "reportable data" (numerator count of 11+) for the target area. This document will be updated on an ongoing basis.
• Access the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (PDF)
• Refer to this document for guidance on how to create a listing of patients included in the PEPPER target areas (PDF).