Speak Out on the Home Health Proposed Rule for Calendar Year 2026The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Home Health Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule for Calendar Year (CY) 2026 on June 30, 2025. Stakeholders, including therapists working in home health agencies (HHAs) have an opportunity to comment on the rule until September 2, 2025. The proposed rule includes significant cuts in payment for HHAs. Specifically, CMS proposes a 6.4% decrease in Medicare payments to HHAs for 2026, amounting to an estimated $1.135 billion reduction compared to 2025. How did CMS arrive at a 6.4% decrease? In simple terms, when the Patient Drive Groupings Model (PDGM) was implemented, Congress required CMS to ‘build’ in future reductions to account for overpayments they anticipated would be made under the new model. While some of these reductions were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS is now proposing to make some of these reductions. PTs and PTAs know better than anyone the impact additional cuts could have on patient access to care. If this matters to you, and it should, the APTA Home Health and the APTA Geriatrics asks you to take a moment and send a comment to CMS. Tell them the impact these significant cuts would have on your patients’ access to physical therapy services in the home. It is easy!
To learn more about the work of the Joint Government Affairs Committee or how you can get involved in advocacy, visit APTA Home Health or APTA Geriatrics. |