PEPPER: Beyond the Report
Practical Education for anyone who receives a PEPPER
Move beyond the numbers with a clear framework for interpreting PEPPER percentile rankings, identifying meaningful outliers, and determining practical next steps.
PEPPER (Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Reports) provides comparative data — let’s interpret it together — confidently and correctly.
Next Webinar Date: [Month Day, 2026]
Created and led by Annie Barnaby, the former CMS PEPPER Education Program architect.
If you’ve ever opened your PEPPER report and thought:
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Are we at risk?”
“Does this mean we’re going to be audited?”
You’re not alone.
PEPPER reports are designed to highlight billing patterns — but they don’t always explain what that data actually means for your facility.
CMS provides the report and a high-level overview.
Beyond the Report provides the interpretation framework.
This series was created to help you evaluate percentile rankings thoughtfully and distinguish meaningful outliers from normal variation.
Most importantly, you’ll learn how to determine when internal review is appropriate — and when it isn’t.
The goal isn’t alarm.
It’s clarity.
What You’ll Gain from Beyond the Report
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Interpreting Percentile Rankings
Understand what your percentile position truly indicates, how to evaluate its significance, and when variation reflects meaningful risk versus expected statistical fluctuation.
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Identifying Meaningful Outliers
Learn how Target Areas are constructed, what patterns typically drive outliers, and how to distinguish normal billing differences from issues that warrant internal review.
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Determining Practical Next Steps
Walk away with a practical framework you can apply immediately to evaluate your data and determine appropriate next steps.
Next Short-Term Acute Care Hospital
PEPPER Webinar
[Month Day, Year | Time | Time Zone]
Registration Options
Choose the option that best fits your needs — whether you’re looking for a one-time webinar experience or ongoing access to practical resources you can return to anytime.
$149
Live Webinar Access
Includes:
Live webinar attendance
Q&A during the session
30-day replay access
Ideal for individuals who want clear guidance and practical interpretation in a live setting.
$249
Education Library Access
Includes everything in Live Webinar Access, plus:
Slide deck (PDF)
Full webinar transcript
Target Area Interpretation Guide
Common Percentile Misinterpretations Guide
Practical Internal Review Framework
Ideal for compliance teams, coders, auditors, and facilities that want lasting reference materials to support internal education and review.
Not sure which option is right?
If you want to attend live and move on, the Live Webinar option is perfect.
If you want materials you can reuse and share internally, Education Library Access provides the greatest long-term value.
Educational Disclaimer
The Beyond the Report webinar series and accompanying resources are provided for general educational purposes only. Content is designed to support understanding of PEPPER reports and related billing and compliance concepts. This program does not constitute legal advice, audit defense services, individualized compliance consulting, or review of specific facility data. Participation does not guarantee prevention of audits, enforcement actions, or regulatory outcomes. Attendees are responsible for evaluating their own data, policies, and compliance practices in consultation with appropriate legal counsel or compliance professionals as needed.