Key Dates and Information

Planned updates to the 2026 and 2027 scoring methodology are available to review here.

Spring 2026
Fall 2026
Planned Updates

Click here for the anticipated reporting periods of the spring 2026 Safety Grade data. Please note that these are subject to CMS data availability on the Safety Grade Data Snapshot Date of January 31 and may change.

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Timeline
Jan. 31	SPRING DATA SNAPSHOT DATE The Data Snapshot Date is the date that Leapfrog will extract public data (i.e., download data published by CMS and/or Leapfrog Hospital Survey Results) to calculate Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. All data, including Leapfrog Hospital Survey Results, must be finalized by this date. If CMS publicly publishes updated data within seven (7) business days of the Data Snapshot Date, Leapfrog will utilize the updated data to calculate the Safety Grade. Click here for more information about Leapfrog Hospital Survey deadlines.
Feb. 24 - March 17	SPRING COURTESY REVIEW PERIOD As a courtesy to hospitals, Leapfrog will hold a Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period before the public release of each Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade update. The Review Period is an opportunity for hospitals to review the data for accuracy (i.e., identify recording errors, hospital name and address changes, etc.) on a secure website and review changes to the scoring methodology.
March 2 @ 2 PM ET	SPRING HOSPITAL SAFETY GRADE TOWN HALL CALL Hospitals and other stakeholders are invited to a free Town Hall Call to hear about changes to the measures and scoring methodology, as well as details of the Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period and important deadlines. The Town Hall Call includes a 40-minute presentation and a 20-minute Q&A session. Register here.
Late March	EARLY 'A' NOTIFICATION PERIOD Hospitals expected to earn an 'A' Safety Grade will be notified 3-4 weeks ahead of Leapfrog's public announcement, providing them additional time to prepare.
April	SPRING LETTER EMBARGO PERIOD Following the close of the Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period, Leapfrog finalizes the data and establishes letter grade cut-points. Leapfrog then refreshes the Safety Grade Review website and hospitals are able to participate in a Letter Grade Embargo Period in which they can preview their letter grade prior to the public announcement.
May	SPRING PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Reporting periods of data used in the Fall 2026 Safety Grade will be available here before the August 31 Data Snapshot Date.

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Timeline
Aug. 31	FALL DATA SNAPSHOT DATE The data snapshot date is the date that Leapfrog will extract public data (i.e., download data published by CMS or submitted to Leapfrog or secondary data sources) to calculate Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. All data, including Leapfrog Hospital Survey Results, must be finalized by this date. Click here for more information about Leapfrog Hospital Survey deadlines.
Sept. - Oct.	FALL COURTESY REVIEW PERIOD As a courtesy to hospitals, Leapfrog will hold a Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period before the public release of each Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade update. The Review Period is an opportunity for hospitals to review the data for accuracy (i.e., identify recording errors, hospital name and address changes, etc.) on a secure website and review changes to the scoring methodology.
Sept. TBD	FALL HOSPITAL SAFETY GRADE TOWN HALL CALL Hospitals and other stakeholders ae invited to a free Town Hall Call to hear about changes to the measures and scoring methodology, as well as details of the Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period and important deadlines.
Late Oct.	Due to popular request from hospitals, Leapfrog will once again offer an Early 'A' notification period. Hospitals expected to earn an 'A' Safety Grade will be notified 3-4 weeks ahead of Leapfrog's public announcement, providing them additional time to prepare.
Nov.	FALL LETTER GRADE EMBARGO PERIOD Following the close of the Courtesy Safety Grade Review Period, Leapfrog finalizes the data and establishes letter grade cut-points. Leapfrog then refreshes the Safety Grade Review website and hospitals are able to participate in a Letter Grade Embargo Period in which they can preview their letter grade prior to the public announcement.
Nov.	FALL PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Planned Updates to the 2026 & 2027 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Methodology
On August 14, 2025, Leapfrog published planned updates to the Hospital Safety Grade methodology and held a public comment period through October 14, 2025. We received a variety of thoughtful comments from different perspectives, which were helpful in finalizing the methodology. We thank all the commenters for their insights.

Please note that due to a delay in the January CMS data refresh, the planned update for spring 2026 will not take effect until fall 2026. Click here to download and review the final updates to the methodology as well as responses to the comments received.

Two Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Policies
On November 13, 2025, Leapfrog published two Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade Policies and held a public comment period through December 16, 2025. We invited public comments on 1) an amendment to the Safety Grade Data Snapshot Date policy that would take effect in spring 2026, and 2) our policy for shared CMS Certification Numbers (CCN). A full description of the policies is available here.

Be sure to sign up for our hospital newsletter for all future announcements.

For questions about the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, or to update information about your facility, contact our Help Desk.