June 30, 2023 Washington, DC — A statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of mission-driven, nonprofit providers of aging services, including home health providers, on the CY 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update, released today:

“Our mission-driven, nonprofit members are navigating continued, substantial challenges: workforce shortages and inflation-fueled price hikes that increase operating costs. While in this proposed rule CMS did not include any recoupments from 2020 and 2021 payments, the agency did calculate a market basket rate update using cost report data from 2021 – and in doing so failed to capture the impact of the past 24 months’ increases in labor, transportation and other business-related costs. Providers’ operating environment is tough. A 2.2% cut will hurt. Reduced payment will limit members’ ability to recruit, hire, and retain staff in a very tight labor market – and without staff, there is no care. This proposed rule contradicts the Biden Administration’s oft-stated commitment to ensuring access to home and community-based care and threatens to harm those who most need home health: older adults and families.”