Home Health Final Rule: Home Health Avoids Devastating Proposed Cuts in 2026
On November 28, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Home Health Final Rule (and factsheet), which included updates to reimbursement and policies affecting Home Health agencies starting January 1, 2026. Here’s our quick summary and reactions to the rule.
December 8, 2025
4 min. read
On November 28, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Home Health Final Rule (and factsheet), which included updates to reimbursement and policies affecting Home Health agencies starting January 1, 2026. Here’s our quick summary and reactions to the rule.
Home Health payment
Home Health had been threatened with the largest cuts ever proposed for the setting, potentially reducing agency reimbursement by as much as 9 percent in one year. Advocates, providers, and organizations rallied against the cuts, and it appears that CMS has listened by reducing the proposed cuts by 80 percent. This leaves a cut of 1.3 percent, a reduction of $220 million in payments.
“This is an improvement over past actions. We’re heartened by CMS’ apparent careful consideration of comments made by LeadingAge, our members, and others.” - Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge
“The Alliance commends CMS for revisiting aspects of its flawed payment approach [...] However, any cut will be detrimental in the face of years of compounding decreases, and more action is needed to help preserve integrity, stability, and predictability in Medicare’s home health benefit.” - Dr. Steve Landers, CEO, National Alliance for Care at Home.
Face-to-face requirements updated
CMS updated the face-to-face requirement to allow any physician to conduct the face-to-face encounter, whether or not they were the certifying physician or involved in the patient’s care. Other types of providers are also able to perform the face-to-face requirement, such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists.
Changes to quality reporting and value-based purchasing
Key changes to data gathering are as follows:
Updates to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (QRP)
Removed COVID-19 vaccination percentage (and corresponding OASIS item)
Removed four assessment items: one Living Situation item, two Food items, and one Utilities item
Updates to HHCAHPS survey
Removed three measures: Care of Patients, Communications between Providers and Patients, and Specific Care Issues.
Updates to HHVBP
Three OASIS-based measures related to bathing and dressing
M1830 Improvement in Bathing
M1810 Improvement in Upper Body Dressing
M1820 Improvement in Lower Body Dressing
Medicare Spending per Beneficiary for the Post-Acute Care (PAC) setting measure, which is claims-based.
In 2026’s tighter payment landscape, we help agencies standardize clinical performance and onboarding so every clinician delivers at the top of license—enabling you to defend margin while protecting outcomes.
Medbridge tips to navigate the 2026 Home Health Final Rule—and drive efficiency and outcomes in 2026
Join our upcoming webinar
Home Health Final Rule: Expert Reactions & Real-World Strategies
Get clarity on what’s changing and what to do next. Experts from SimiTree will translate the latest CMS updates into plain language and share practical strategies to help you confidently guide your agency through the year ahead.
Improve HHVBP performance with targeted action
Use your Interim Performance Report (IPR) to focus improvement efforts where they’ll have the biggest impact.
Identify priority measures, align owners, and act on opportunities quickly.
Train teams to the measures that matter
Deliver role-based education aligned to HHVBP priorities.
Assess competency in key areas—especially high-impact documentation and OASIS-related skills—so training translates into performance.
Create a quality feedback loop that sticks
Build a repeatable system for continuous improvement:
Measures changed → behaviors required → training delivered → competency verified → performance reviewed.
Provide ongoing OASIS training to improve accuracy and consistency
Support accurate, consistent OASIS documentation with best-in-class OASIS education, refreshers, and validation—helping reduce variability and strengthen reimbursement performance under HHVBP.
Drive onboarding and education efficiency
Move knowledge-based learning to digital training.
Reserve in-person time for essential hands-on skills, coaching, and validation.
Result: faster ramp-up, less classroom time, and more confidence from day one.
Reduce administrative burden with a learning management system
Use an electronic learning platform to centralize:
Assignments and completion tracking.
Competency documentation.
Transcripts and reporting.
So your training documentation is always organized and survey-ready.
Stay compliant and survey-ready—without the scramble
Ensure you have the right compliance education and competency checklist transcripts at your fingertips, so you can quickly produce proof during audits or surveys and reduce the risk of avoidable penalties.
Medbridge resource roundup
How to set up an onboarding program to drive retention
Disclaimer: The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is not meant to be interpreted as billing or legal advice. Please consult with your payors and their policies for more information. Information is sourced from the 2026 Home Health Final Rule and factsheet.
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