Current Actions

Oppose Medicare's Proposed 9% Cut to Home Health

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule (CMS-1828-P), and it poses a serious threat to the future of home health care.

CMS is proposing a nearly 9% cut to the base 30-day payment rate for home health services in 2026 — the largest single-year reduction in recent memory. The proposal includes a permanent cut of approximately 4%, tied to CMS’s behavioral adjustment formula, based on the assumption that providers are changing billing behaviors. It also includes a temporary cut of about 5% in the form of a “clawback,” intended to recoup alleged overpayments from prior years. Combined, these reductions would slash Medicare home health payments by $1.13 billion in a single year.

These cuts are deeply harmful to providers, patients, and the workforce. First, they endanger access to care. Home health agencies are already being forced to limit admissions, reduce service areas, or shut down altogether — especially in rural and underserved communities. With hospitals discharging patients sicker and quicker, a lack of home health resources will inevitably lead to more avoidable readmissions and poorer outcomes for seniors.

Second, the proposed cuts would worsen the workforce crisis. Agencies are struggling to compete for nurses, therapists, and aides while labor costs continue to rise. Additional payment reductions will lead to hiring freezes, layoffs, and burnout, leaving providers unable to meet growing patient needs.

Finally, the rule is based on flawed assumptions. CMS’s behavioral adjustment logic penalizes providers for theoretical billing behavior changes, without accounting for the real, documented increase in patient acuity and complexity. The proposed retrospective clawbacks unfairly target agencies that delivered care in good faith under CMS’s own established payment methodology.

You can help protect access to home health care by submitting a formal comment to CMS no later than 5:00 PM ET on Friday, August 29, 2025. Share how this rule would affect your agency, your staff, and the patients you serve. Every comment matters — use your voice to stand up for the future of high-quality, in-home care for millions of Americans.

Expand Access to Telehealth Services: Support the CONNECT for Health Act

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

A bipartisan coalition of federal lawmakers has reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act (S.1261) — a bill to expand access to telehealth services through Medicare and make many of the COVID-19-era flexibilities permanent. Without congressional action, these critical telehealth waivers are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2025.

If enacted, the CONNECT for Health Act would:

Permanently eliminate geographic restrictions and allow patients to receive telehealth services from home;
Permanently authorize health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services;
Expand the list of eligible health care professionals who can offer telehealth under Medicare;
Eliminate the in-person visit requirement for telemental health services;
Allow waivers of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies; and
Require the publication of data to evaluate telehealth use, impact on quality of care, and areas for improvement.

With strong bipartisan backing and continued reliance on virtual care by patients and providers alike, the CONNECT for Health Act could shape the future of telehealth delivery well beyond the pandemic.

Join the movement to protect and expand telehealth access. Contact your members of Congress today and advocate for their support of the CONNECT for Health Act!

Tell Congress to Expand Access to Home Health Services Through Occupational Therapy

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The Medicare Home Health Accessibility Act (H.R.2013) would amend the Social Security Act to allow Medicare beneficiaries to qualify for home health services solely based on a need for occupational therapy. Currently, patients must first qualify through the need for skilled nursing, physical therapy, or speech-language pathology services. This bipartisan legislation removes outdated barriers to care and modernizes Medicare policy to reflect the essential role occupational therapy plays in patient recovery, rehabilitation, and independent living.

Why It Matters:

Enhances access to home-based care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Reduces unnecessary institutional care.
Recognizes occupational therapy as a standalone qualifying service.
Strengthens the home health workforce and supports aging in place.

Please urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and support H.R.2013. It’s time to remove outdated restrictions that limit access to critical in-home services.