NEW ORLEANS—In-home care providers are facing large hurdles, including the threat of significant federal payment cuts, but should remain upbeat, Steve Landers, CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) said Sunday, Nov. 2 in opening remarks at the organization's first Annual Meeting and Exposition. Landers gave a brief update on the Alliance—which formed last year through the merger of the National Association for Homecare and Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization—and its focus for the event and its goals in Washington and across the country.
Alliance Updates & Remarks on Advocacy
Before Landers spoke, Louisiana Governor Steve Landry kicked off the event in New Orleans as Sunday’s keynote speaker. It was important that the governor was there, Landers said, because leaders need to be present to hear and see the story of the industry and recognize the critical work that’s being done.
“If we talk about the home health payment system issue right now, we need bipartisan, national, countrywide help in making sure this dramatically erroneous and misguided proposal doesn’t get finalized,” Landers said. “And having someone like Gov. Landry, who is a close colleague and friend of the president and is critically important in this fight we’re in” is important, he added.
In June, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that would permanently reduce home health payment rates by 4.059% in 2026 and add a temporary 5% clawback. Altogether, with a range of increases and decreases, CMS estimated that Medicare payments to home health agencies would drop 6.4% or $1.135 billion compared to 2025.
Landers acknowledged that the industry and the Alliance have a lot of work to do, especially right now, when the industry feels like it’s on shaky ground. The Alliance and its members are at the center of the work being done and the center of the issues the country faces, Landers said, asking that everyone stay involved and continue to advocate in a unified way.
“This proposal around home health,” Landers said, “it’s a war room situation. With the Alliance team, we’ve done everything … We've shown them where their methodologies are wrong using the best data shops we can find.
“There's a risk that this isn't fixed,” Landers continued. “And one of the things we've been doing to mitigate that risk, as an Alliance, and many of you have been at the forefront of this, is trying to make sure that Congress has some model to come in and stop the cuts if CMS [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid] doesn’t.”
In response to the now seemingly annual rate cuts for home health, Landers said there is bipartisan support for the Home Health Stabilization Act from Reps. Kevin Hern and Terri Sewell. The legislation would create a more sustainable payment system for Medicare home health agencies, ensuring patients have access to care.
If the cut does happen, Landers said the industry will need to act fast to make sure its message can get through to Congress in order to try and fix things.
Despite noting some things feel like they are moving backward in the industry, and that there are a lot of uphill battles being fought, Landers said the industry has every reason to be optimistic, as the signing of Medicare and Medicaid into law marked its 60th anniversary this year.
“President Johnson told the country that the law reminds us never to ignore untended suffering in a land bursting with abundance,” Landers said. “If that’s what Medicare is about, then the work that you all are doing, that we are doing, needs to be top priority. It's not something to cut, to cast aside, to inappropriately audit and inconvenience and disadvantage. It's something to invest in; it's something to build up. It's something to make more vibrant. It's something to celebrate, and that's why we've got to make sure we stick together to tell that story.”
One way the Alliance is sharing its platform is through social media initiatives. Landers said some posts have generated over a million impressions and earned over 1,000 media hits. In May, the Alliance launched its “Who Cares” podcast, which offers insights from industry leaders and policymakers, conversations with those in the industry, topic deep dives and more.
“Please know that we're in it to win it, but we've got to stick together, because we're a small sector, and you know, if we're contradicting one another, God save us, it just isn't going to happen,” Landers said.
New & Departing Board Members
Landers announced retiring board members of the Alliance board, including Susan Lloyd, Mary Myers, David Totaro, Sarah Radcliffe and Mark Morris.
“I just want all of us to recognize these individuals and thank them,” Landers said. “It is a hard job … Some of the issues that we’re up against sometimes are not easy, and we’re twisted in a pretzel sometimes. That leadership is critically important.”
New members of the board who will join in January include:
- Kristen Yntema, president and CEO of of AuthoraCare Collective
- Jenn Ofelt, president of UnityPoint at Home at UnityPoint Health
- David Baiada, CEO of BAYADA Home Health Care
- Tim Rogers, president and CEO of the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina & South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association
“Hopefully, our friends in Washington will bring a fun and easy year to all of our new board members,” Landers said. “But otherwise, we’ve got a lot of work to do, and it’s going to be hard work. … Come January, the work we have to do is incredible.”
Landers thanked the event sponsors and the volunteer leadership of the Alliance.
“Our governance is made up of people that volunteer their time and efforts to lead on behalf of patients and families we serve in all of our organizations,” Landers said. “I could not function without the guidance, support and leadership of our board.”