On Thursday, lawmakers introduced a bill that, if passed, would pause cuts to the Medicare home health reimbursement rate for 2026 and 2027.
The bill, called the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025, is designed to stabilize home health payments and guarantee patients access to care that allows them to age in place and avoid facilities.
Specifically, the bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to apply a positive payment adjustment to offset negative payments included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed home health rule for 2026. The 2026 payment rate would be based on the 2025 rate.
Representatives Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) introduced the bill less than a week after the window for comments closed on the proposed home health rule. The proposed cut amounts to a 9% payment reduction to the 30-day base payment rate. Industry leaders have called the proposed cuts a “matter of life and death.”
“Slashing home health payments not only undermines access to this critical benefit, but it also drives up overall Medicare costs by forcing patients into more expensive care settings,” Hern said in a statement. “This bill ensures seniors can get the care they need at home, while protecting taxpayers from wasteful spending.”
“The impending cuts to the Medicare home health program will leave lasting negative impacts on patients and their families,” Sewell said in a statement. “It is imperative to prevent such cuts from taking effect, which is why I am proud to sponsor the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025.”
The bill has industry leaders hopeful.
Dr. Steve Landers, CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home, said that CMS’ proposal for over $1.135 billion in home health cuts places essential care for millions of Americans on the line. “Congress cannot stand still,” he said in a statement.
“The Alliance celebrates the exceptional leadership of Representatives Kevin Hern and Terri Sewell who today introduced the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025, bipartisan legislation that would halt home health cuts in 2026 and 2027 and provide time for CMS and Congress to work with stakeholders to correct methodological errors, combat fraud and strengthen access to home health at this critical moment for our health systems,” Landers said.
LeadingAge CEO and President, Katie Smith Sloan, voiced support for the bill. Significant cuts in Medicare fee-for-service payments currently proposed threaten beneficiaries’ access to care and the viability of all providers, she said, and disproportionately impact nonprofit and mission-driven provider members.
“We appreciate that Representatives Hern and Sewell recognize both providers’ need for relief from these looming reductions and the importance of older adults’ and families’ ability to continue to access care,” Smith Sloan said. “This legislation relieves payment pressure, short-term and ensures the time needed to work toward a sustainable solution. We wholeheartedly support it and appreciate the leadership of [these Representatives] on this critical issue.”
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