Snapshot
This report says CMS’s 2026 proposed home health rule, which includes a 6.4% cut and more than $1.1 billion in reductions, would put serious pressure on patient access, provider stability, and workforce capacity at a time when home-based care demand continues to grow. It highlights industry concern that years of flat or declining reimbursement have not kept pace with rising labor costs, and argues the likely effects would include tighter capacity, more strain on clinicians, greater risk for rural and underserved patients, and increased reliance on higher-cost facility care. At the same time, the brief says long-term demand for home health remains strong and that providers are responding through advocacy, automation, technology, and operating-model changes, but meaningful policy correction is still needed for the sector to fully stabilize and innovate.
