(Alexandria VA) — The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) continues to support efforts by policymakers and regulators to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program. On April 21, the House Committee on Ways and Means hosted a hearing titled “Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking Down on Medicare Fraud.”
The harm experienced by victims of Medicare fraud cannot be overstated. Hospice care exists to provide dignity, comfort, and support at the end of life. When bad actors exploit this trusted system, they don’t just harm individual patients — they erode confidence in the Medicare hospice benefit as a whole. Receiving care at home is the preferred choice for care by many patients and families, and home health plays a vital role in providing skilled care that improves health outcomes and reduces hospitalizations. Safeguarding the integrity of hospice and home health is critical to ensuring individuals continue to have access to safe, high-quality care. We thank the administration and bipartisan lawmakers for their efforts to protect home-based care from bad actors looking to exploit it.
Leaders in care at home have already taken an active stance in providing recommendations to combat bad actors while protecting legitimate providers. On March 30, the Alliance submitted a letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), regarding the Request for Information related to Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH). Additionally, the Alliance, LeadingAge, LeadingAge California, and the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) sent a letter on March 25, 2026, to CMS to commend the agency’s actions to protect Medicare beneficiaries, preserve the integrity of the hospice and home health benefits, and root out bad actors exploiting these programs and harming patients and families. These recent efforts build on years of advocacy from the Alliance and its legacy organizations, including a joint letter detailing comprehensive program integrity recommendations shared in late 2025 and a list of 34 program integrity recommendations submitted in 2022, some of which have already been implemented.
Any fraudulent activity in home health or hospice is a threat to patients and legitimate providers who are operating in good faith in an increasingly challenging landscape. Efforts to address fraud must not hinder access to this essential care for the individuals and families who rely on it. The Alliance remains ready to serve as a resource to policymakers and regulators as program integrity efforts continue and is committed to collaborating on solutions that strengthen accountability while preserving access to care at home.
###
About the National Alliance for Care at Home
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is the leading authority in transforming care in the home. As an inclusive thought leader, advocate, educator, and convener, we serve as the unifying voice for providers and recipients of home care, home health, hospice, palliative care, and Medicaid home and community-based services throughout all stages of life. Learn more at www.AllianceForCareAtHome.org.
Press Contact
communications@allianceforcareathome.org
Hannah Kristan | 202-355-1647