The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been busy this summer, announcing multiple changes for healthcare providers. On July 14, 2026, CMS announced that the Payroll-Based Journal System will transition to iQIES on August 17, 2026.
All PBJ data must be submitted through iQIES beginning August 17, 2026. No changes to quarterly deadlines or any reporting requirements are being made.
- PBJ submissions for Fiscal Quarter 3 must be submitted in QIES only through August 14, 2026 before 11:59PM ET. After that QIES will no longer accept PBJ data.
- Fiscal Quarter 4 submissions will not be accepted between July 1, 2026 and August 16, 2026 in QIES or iQIES.
- PBJ submissions for Fiscal Quarter 4 start on August 17 through iQIES only.
How to Submit to iQIES
CMS provides instructions in the QSO Memo for providers and vendors to ensure that they can successfully submit PBJ staffing data in iQIES. Vendors are required to request access for each facility and get approval from the facility.
Running PBJ Reports in iQIES
Users will be able to access and run a number of PBJ reports once PBJ in iQIES is up and running. Some reports will differ slightly from what’s in CASPER from an appearance standpoint but will contain the same data.
At the end of the day, it’ll be good for providers to have more information in the same place – but remember that all that data is more available to regulators as well.
For more information, check out CMS QSO-26-12-NH “Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) Transition to iQIES.”
