Homecare Homebase Shares Insights from CMS 2026 Home Health Final Rule

DALLAS—Homecare Homebase (HCHB), a software provider for home-based care, announced key insights and compliance preparations following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Calendar Year 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System final rule. 

“While the rule reflects meaningful progress driven by industry-wide advocacy in reaction to the proposed rule, it still results in a net reduction for agencies already operating under significant financial strain,” HCHB said.

While agencies will still face a 1.3% overall payment reduction in 2026, HCHB said CMS reversed course on several of the most severe elements originally included in the proposed rule. These changes include an 80% reduction in proposed payment cuts and recalculated behavior assumptions, marking an important shift toward fairer, more accurate methodologies.

“This final rule shows that consistent, unified advocacy truly makes an impact,” said Luke Rutledge, president of Homecare Homebase. “CMS’s adjustments reflect a more realistic view of the challenges and costs required to care for patients safely at home. While the final rule demonstrates the progress possible when the industry collaborates, additional improvements are still needed to ensure long-term stability and protect access.”

The 2026 final rule, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, includes several financial and operational updates that will directly affect agency planning and reimbursement. HCHB reported the following changes: 

Financial updates

• A projected $220 million decrease in overall Medicare home health payments, reflecting a 1.3% net reduction.
• A 2.4% home health payment update.
• A 0.9% permanent adjustment and 2.7% temporary adjustment applied across payments.
• Updated national standardized 30-day payment rate of $2,038.22.
• Updates to per-visit payment amounts, low utilization payment adjustments, fixed-dollar loss calculations, case-mix weights, CBSA/wage index values functionality impairment levels and comorbidity subgroups.
   

Operational updates

• Conditions of Participation: CMS clarified that OASIS submission is required for all patients receiving skilled services, regardless of payer.
• Quality Reporting Program (QRP): Summarized comments on a suggestion to shorten the data-submission deadline window and revised the set of measures for QRP.
• HHCAHPS survey: New questions, updated measure weights and changes to the star rating methodology.
• Provider enrollment: Expanded grounds for denials, revocations and retroactive effective dates.
• Reconsideration extensions: Agencies may request extensions when extraordinary circumstances prevent timely Quality Reporting Program submissions.
   

HCHB emphasized that while the final rule is a marked improvement, significant challenges remain for agencies navigating rising labor costs, increasing administrative demands and a rapidly shifting payer landscape driven by Medicare Advantage and value-based reimbursement models. Homecare Homebase said it applauds the continued unity across the home health industry, while emphasizing that sustained advocacy momentum is necessary.

“This progress is encouraging but our work is far from finished,” added Hannah Pearson, chief revenue officer at Homecare Homebase. “Home health providers continue to face mounting financial strain and sustained policy improvements are needed to preserve patient access across Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage. We are committed to supporting the industry’s push toward long-term stability, fair reimbursement and continued innovation in home-based care.”

With the publication of the rule, HCHB said it has begun implementing product updates to ensure compliance by the Jan. 1 deadline. The company’s analytics team has also updated the Home Health Impact Model, which allows agencies to evaluate how the new policies will affect their operations using their own claims data.