09/18/2025

Home Health Stabilization Act Would Delay Deep Medicare Cuts

The Calendar Year 2026 (CY26) Medicare Home Health proposed rule includes a 9% cut to fee-for-service payments—the largest reduction in a decade and the fourth consecutive cut since 2023. If finalized, the rule would reduce payments to home health agencies by more than $1.1 billion in 2026, threatening access to home-based services for older adults and people with disabilities.

In response, Representatives Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced the bipartisan Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025 (H.R. 5142) on September 4. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide payment adjustments in 2026 and 2027 that offset the proposed reductions, including the -4.059% permanent and -5% temporary cuts.

Since the implementation of the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) in 2020, more than 1,000 home health agencies have closed nationwide. Research shows these closures limit access to care, increase emergency room visits and hospital readmissions, and raise mortality rates. Nonprofit home health providers are among those most at risk.

LeadingAge is urging Congress to act quickly to prevent destabilizing cuts to an already fragile sector. Providers are encouraged to contact their representatives and ask them to cosponsor the Home Health Stabilization Act to protect access to home health care for older adults across the continuum.