WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) released a proposed rule on home health and durable medical equipment (DME) that includes new provisions for the next implementation of the Competitive Bidding Program (CBP), the American Association for Homecare (AAHomeCare) shared in an email with its members.
Editor's note: This story was updated July 1, 2025 with additional industry reactions.
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule on Monday, June 30, that would permanently reduce home health payment rates by 4.059% in 2026 and add a temporary 5% clawback as well.
WASHINGTON—Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Susan Collins submitted a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz expressing concern for the future of the Medicare home health benefit, including continued payment cuts leading to further agency closures in their communities.
WASHINGTON—Top United States health insurance providers pledged to streamline and improve the prior authorization processes for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid Managed Care, Health Insurance Marketplace and commercial plans covering nearly eight out of 10 Americans, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced on Monday, June 23.
DAVIE, Florida—MedBetterHealth announced it has officially partnered with Evo Care Group and its subsidiary Faith Home Health Care to deliver dementia services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services GUIDE Model.
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas—Netsmart, a provider of health care solutions and software for post-acute care communities, announced that its myUnity electronic health record (EHR) platform has received the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) Verification for Home Health. CHAP is a recognized non-profit accrediting organization authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
WISCONSIN—Michael G.V. Comino was sentenced to 22 months; imprisonment for conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Comino was also ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution to Medicare.
TEMPE, Arizona—PocketRN, a provider of virtual nursing care, and SYNERGY HomeCare, a homecare company, announced they will form a national partnership to test the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) alternative payment model designed to support people living with dementia and their family caregivers.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it has released its final national coverage determination (NCD) for the treatment of chronic respiratory failure associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
WASHINGTON—Following the recent release of the Health Technology Ecosystem request for information (RFI), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted an in-person listening session to discuss the RFI and ways to use the health technology innovations to enhance patient care and promote efficiencies in the health care system.
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released more details on the agency’s budget request for the 2026 fiscal year in its 51-page Budget in Brief, along with a 194-page Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
OWINGS MILLS, Maryland—The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), a CMS-deemed accrediting organization serving the durable medical equipment, orthotics, prosthetics and supplies (DMEPOS) industries for more than 40 years, shared updates regarding a three-year cessation in accepting new accreditation and reaccreditation applications in four states: Florida, Texas, California and New York.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant expansion of its auditing efforts for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Beginning immediately, CMS will audit all eligible MA contracts for each payment year in all newly initiated audits and invest additional resources to expedite the completion of audits for payment years 2018 through 2024.
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia—Three people have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a multi-million-dollar Medicare billing scheme.
Just over a year ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state’s 2025 budget into law, enacting legislation that significantly reshaped the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP).
WASHINTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should delay its proposed national policy coverage determination (NCD) on noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) and make substantive changes or risk harming patient access, the American Association of Homecare said in public comments.
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule that would update Mediare payment for hospices 2.4%—a figure industry advocates say is inadequate.
WASHINGTON—As Dr. Mehmet Oz completes his first week as the 17th Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), he shared his agenda and vision for the agency in a press release. A cardiothoracic surgeon and former host "The Dr. Oz Show," he now leads the largest agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with a $1.7 trillion budget, tasked with delivering health outcomes for more than 160 million people.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Sally Njume-Tatsing, 47, formerly of Pickerington, was sentenced in federal court to 42 months in prison for committing Medicaid fraud. Njume-Tatsing was found guilty in September 2024 on all 13 counts as charged following a jury trial.
According to court documents and trial testimony, in 2017, Njume-Tatsing owned and operated three home health care businesses named Labelle Home Health. The agencies were located in Reynoldsburg, Mt. Vernon and Parma.
ARLINGTON, Virginia—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) strongly encouraged respiratory suppliers to comment on a proposed National Coverage Determination (NCD) on noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV). Comments are due Thursday, Apr. 10 (11:59 p.m. ET).
WASHINGTON—As the Senate advances its newest budget resolution and the possibility of massive cuts to Medicaid loom, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, reiterated the impact of large-scale spending reductions in the federal-state health insurance program in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee leadership.
