CMS Flooded with Thousands of Comments Opposing Proposed $1 Billion Cut to Home Health Payments as Comment Period Closes
(Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC) – As the federal comment period draws to a close, the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) has joined an unprecedented number of providers and patients in submitting formal feedback to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the agency’s proposed 9% cut to the home health payment rate for 2026. The unusually high volume of responses collected throughout the comment window underscores broad concern that the $1 billion payment reduction will limit access to care at home, compromise patient safety, and burden the wider healthcare system.
“CMS has proposed dangerous payment cuts based on flawed and inaccurate calculations that don’t follow the law and bake data from fraudulent providers into the payment system. If this policy is finalized, these cuts will deliver a devastating blow to millions of Americans who rely on home health care, lead to increased Medicare costs, and intensify the strain on providers and patient care. At a time when the need for home-based care is higher than ever, CMS should strengthen, not weaken, access to this essential lifeline,” said Dr. Steve Landers, CEO for the Alliance. “I urge policymakers to revisit their flawed approach and listen to the patients, providers, and families who benefit from home care and would be negatively impacted by these cuts.”
In its comments, the Alliance outlines the severe consequences of additional cuts to home health care, which would include the continuation of increasing unfilled referrals, delays in care, home health agency closures, and shifting costs to hospitalizations and skilled nursing facilities. The Alliance also cites CMS’s flawed approach to the cuts and outlines how policymakers can fix their calculations. Failing to do so will devastate the home health program, increase Medicare costs, and be contrary to the agency’s stated goal of reducing fraud and abuse in the system. If CMS were to follow the Alliance’s recommendations, home health agencies would receive a positive payment update.
“With decades of experience as a health care provider, I see firsthand how these cuts threaten access to care for millions of Americans. A $1.1 billion reduction in 2026 would further destabilize providers already under immense pressure. Since 2019, more than 1,000 home health agencies have shut down, and over half of U.S. counties have lost at least one provider. Home health is in jeopardy, and this proposed rule will only make matters worse, especially in rural America,” said Ken Albert, President and CEO, Andwell Health Partners and Board Chair for the Alliance.
The Alliance urges CMS not to finalize the harmful, proposed payment reduction. Instead, policymakers must revise their approach and the policy rationale underlying the proposed 9% cut to protect Medicare beneficiaries’ access to high-quality home health care.
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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
Elyssa Katz | 571-281-0220
