Expressing “deep concerns” with the proposed changes to the Medicare home health 30-day payment rates announced in June, Representatives Sarah McBride (D-DE) and Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ) in an October 8, 2025 letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, point out that millions of Medicare beneficiaries on home health each year, and the in-home services are not only more comfortable but frequently prevent costly readmissions and nursing facility placements. Yet, they note, “despite this proven value, access to home health benefits have been eroding. … in states like Delaware and New Jersey, thousands of patients have lost access to these vital services since 2019, and many of those referred to home health after hospitalization never received it.”
The proposed cuts, they say, “would accelerate this trend. Home health agencies already face severe workforce shortages, struggling to compete for nurses, clinical professionals, and administrative staff. Further reductions … will make it exceedingly difficult for providers to recruit and retain skilled professionals, particularly in rural and underserved regions. This decline in capacity will delay and deny services to patients and increase reliance on more expensive settings of care such as emergency departments, inpatient hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities.”
Reps. McBride and Van Drew urge the agency to a pause on implementation of any further reductions to payment rates and revisit their approach to rate calculations.
