Sponsor
Mark R. Warner
Senator · D-VA
Senator · D-VA
Official title: Amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure the integrity of hospice care furnished under the Medicare program, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 17, 2026 by Mark R. Warner · Last progress March 17, 2026
The bill increases oversight and boosts some hospice payments to improve access and curb fraud, but does so at the cost of higher Medicare spending, greater provider administrative burden, potential payment disruptions, and restricted new entry that may reduce access in some areas.
Medicare beneficiaries will face lower risks of fraud and inappropriate hospice enrollments because the bill imposes a 5‑year moratorium on new enrollments from high‑risk providers and requires enhanced reviews targeting those providers.
Medicare beneficiaries will get higher per‑day payments for certain routine home hospice services (temporary 400% boost adjusted by market basket/alternative), which can improve access to in‑home end‑of‑life support.
Patients in underserved and rural areas can continue to obtain hospice care because the Secretary may exempt hospices that address insufficient access based on geographic need and service plans.
Medicare beneficiaries and rural communities may see fewer hospice options because the 5‑year moratorium can block new hospice enrollments, reducing access where exemptions are not granted.
Hospice providers and patients could experience payment delays, increased claim denials, and potential service interruptions because of expanded prepayment medical reviews and heightened audits.
Hospice providers and government programs will face substantial new administrative and compliance burdens — mandatory revalidation, ownership reporting, enhanced survey frequency, complex payment formulas, and system updates — raising costs and operational strain.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a nationwide 5‑year Medicare moratorium on new hospice enrollments for high‑risk providers, tightens enrollment oversight and ownership transparency, and adjusts hospice payment rules including a temporary elevated routine home care rate.
Creates a temporary nationwide five-year moratorium on new Medicare enrollments and new hospice programs for identified high‑risk hospice providers while expanding oversight, enrollment revalidation, ownership transparency, and targeted prepayment review. It also requires the HHS Secretary to set annual percentage adjustments to certain hospice payment rates, defines payment rules for routine home care visits, and creates a temporary elevated per‑day payment for specified routine home hospice care for a multi‑year period.