U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, announced her support for legislation on Friday aimed at preventing proposed funding cuts, which would increase the cost of Medicare home health services.
The “Home Health Stabilization Act,” sponsored by Sewell and Representative Kevin Hern, R-Oklahoma, would prevent a proposed rule seeking to reduce spending levels for Medicare’s home healthcare programs for 2026 from going into effect for the next two years.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the proposed reductions in funding for home health in June, through its annual Home Health Prospective Payment System rule proposal.
The cuts would reduce home health payments made by the CMS for FY26 by an estimated 6.4 percent, or roughly $1.13 billion, compared to the 2025 spending rate.
“This legislation pauses impending funding reductions to give Congress and the industry time to develop a better, more sustainable payment system,” Sewell’s office wrote.
Sewell emphasized the rule’s potential to make access to home care more difficult for patients across Alabama.
“Home health services are a lifeline for so many Alabama seniors and people with disabilities, allowing patients to receive the treatment they need in the comfort of their own homes,” said Sewell in a written statement regarding the bill.
“The impending cuts to the Medicare home health program will leave lasting negative impacts on patients and their families. It is imperative to prevent such cuts from taking effect, which is why I am proud to sponsor the Home Health Stabilization Act of 2025,” Sewell continued.
Hern, meanwhile, pointed to the importance of care for patients living in rural areas, who often have limited access to hospitals nearby.
“Home health is a lifesaver for millions of seniors and their loved ones, especially in rural states like Oklahoma, where hospitals and nursing facilities may be hours away,” said Hern.
“Slashing home health payments not only undermines access to this critical benefit, but it also drives up overall Medicare costs by forcing patients into more expensive care settings. This bill ensures seniors can get the care they need at home, while protecting taxpayers from wasteful spending,” he continued.
Sewell’s office cited that since 2020, more than 1,000 home health agencies have closed nationwide, with nearly a third of patients referred to home health care from hospitals unable to receive services.
Sewell’s office also highlighted endorsements of the act from health industry leaders, including the president and CEO of LeadingAge, a collection of nonprofit providers of aging services, Katie Smith Sloan, and CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home Dr. Steve Landers.
“Home health agencies deliver critical services that help older adults in healthcare recovery or ongoing aging in place,” said Sloan. “The deep cuts in Medicare fee-for-service payment currently proposed threaten beneficiaries’ access to care and all providers’ viability–and may have a disproportionate impact on our nonprofit and mission-driven provider members by eroding their ability to serve as safety net partners, to accept complex referrals, and to maintain essential community services.”
“This legislation relieves payment pressure, short-term, and ensures the time needed to work toward a sustainable solution. We wholeheartedly support it and appreciate the leadership of Representative Hern and Representative Sewell on this critical issue,” she added.
“While CMS must reverse course and correct its calculations, given what’s at stake for Medicare beneficiaries and the overall function of the Medicare program, Congress cannot stand still,” Landers said.
Landers added that the legislation would “provide time for CMS and Congress to work with stakeholders to correct methodological errors, combat fraud, and strengthen access to home health at this critical moment for our health systems.”
LeadingAge and the National Alliance for Care at Home have stood in opposition to the proposed CMS rule, alongside the American Hospital Association and home health care and health technology companies, Axxess and Wellsky.
“This reduction comes on top of nearly 9 percent in cuts already implemented from [calendar year] 2023 through [calendar year] 2025. Such repeated and compounding reductions are unsustainable and directly threaten patient access to critical, cost-effective home health care,” the National Alliance for Care at Home wrote in a July letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
In 2023, Sewell was a sponsor for the House version of the “Preserving Access to Home Health Act,” which similarly sought to curb cuts to home health spending proposed by CMS.
CMS’s public comment period for the home health rule ended on August 29. The agency typically releases the final version of the rule in early November.
