The comment window for the proposed CY2027 Medicare home health rule has closed — and the difference in quantity and quality from last year feels stark. Last year, the home health community flooded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) with official comments decrying what was the largest proposed cut to the Medicare base […]
The home health community has voiced support for the potential rate increase in the proposed home health payment rule for calendar year 2027, while noting a few caveats. Providers and advocates are now filing comments as the window for public comments draws to a close. Commenters broadly praised the proposed rule change, while also urging […]
Two months after Democrats unveiled a policy framework to add a home care benefit within Medicare, lawmakers introduced a bill that, if passed, would make the benefit a reality. The new bill, called the Medicare At Home Act, would add a home care benefit to Medicare Part B. “Americans overwhelmingly and strongly believe Medicare […]
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has introduced a bill that, if enacted, would give the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) additional tools to prevent and detect home health fraud and reset the Medicare home health payment rate to levels seen before years of payment cuts. The bill, called the Medicare Home Health Payment Integrity […]
The 2027 Medicare home health proposed payment rule dropped yesterday, and it was a surprising one. The home health industry has become accustomed to years of proposed cuts – but this one featured an aggregate rate increase. In the last two proposed rules, CMS floated aggregate cuts of 6.4% and 1.7%, making the 2027 proposal […]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is proposing that Congress consider changes to the way Medicare pays for hospice routine home care based on a comparison of payment mechanisms between home health and hospice – though some industry groups caution that the GAO’s recommendation oversimplifies key differences between hospice and home health. GAO said Medicare could […]
A group of Democratic senators has unveiled a policy framework to establish a home care benefit within Medicare and expand Medicaid home- and community-based services, a “major policy shift” that was welcomed by home-based care organizations. The lawmakers’ framework, released on Wednesday, could improve access to care, increase efficiency, and create a more stable payment […]
On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced a broader push to coordinate payers, providers, technology vendors and developers around shared standards for electronic prior authorization. He set a Jan. 1, 2027, deadline for certain CMS-regulated payers to implement electronic prior authorization interfaces. “When a health care provider […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a 2.4% bump in payments to hospices in 2027, an increase that home-based care advocacy organizations said will create challenges for providers. CMS estimates the proposed 2.4% rate increase would deliver an additional $785 million in hospice payments in 2027 compared to 2026. The National […]
On Wednesday, four major home-based care associations wrote a letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), lauded CMS’ efforts to root out fraud, waste and abuse – while calling for the agency to protect compliant providers. The letter, signed by the National Alliance for Care at […]
