Sponsors (7)
The bill strengthens oversight, transparency, and targeted payments to reduce fraud and support home hospice and respite care, but does so with moratoria, enforcement tools, payment complexity, and temporary cost increases that may limit new provider entry, raise administrative burdens, and create transitional uncertainties.
Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers: stronger oversight (moratoria, prepayment review, ownership disclosure, audits, technical expert panels, more frequent surveys, medical director and face-to-face recertification requirements) reduces fraud, improper payments, and raises care accountability.
Hospice programs and patients who receive home hospice: temporary higher payments for routine home care (400% of FY2027 rate, adjusted annually from Oct 1, 2027–Sept 30, 2032) increases revenue available to deliver and sustain home hospice services.
Seniors, caregivers, and families: authorized Medicare payment and a defined methodology for short-term home respite care (beginning Oct 1, 2029) improves access to paid respite services and caregiver support.
Medicare beneficiaries in some communities: temporary moratoria on new hospice enrollments and locations can reduce local availability of hospice services and limit patient choice.
Patients served by sanctioned providers: aggressive enforcement tools (billing privilege suspensions, enrollment revocations) risk temporary care interruptions if transitions are not carefully managed.
Hospice providers and CMS: extensive new reviews, revalidations, reporting, audits, wage-adjusted caps and payment complexity increase administrative burden, compliance costs, and may slow payments or require system upgrades.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Places temporary moratoria on most new Medicare hospice enrollments and programs, applies targeted prepayment review, and revises hospice payment rules including a temporary high home‑care rate.
Introduced March 17, 2026 by Linda T. Sánchez · Last progress March 17, 2026
Creates temporary, nationwide limits on new Medicare hospice enrollments and new hospice programs, applies heightened prepayment review to certain hospice care, and changes how Medicare pays for hospice services — including temporary higher payments for specific routine home-care services. It requires HHS to publish and implement the moratoria quickly, permit narrow exceptions for underserved areas, report to Congress, and set new payment-adjustment rules and definitions for hospice visits.