Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Calendar Year 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update; Requirements for the HH Quality Reporting Program and the HH Value-Based Purchasing Expanded Model; Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program Updates; DMEPOS Accreditation Requirements; Provider Enrollment; and Other Medicare and Medicaid Policies

Key Points

• Starting Jan 1, 2026, Medicare updates what it pays home health agencies, including a 2.4% annual update but also separate cuts that reduce the base rate overall.
• Home health agencies’ pay will depend more on reported patient needs and performance, with updated quality measures and a revised patient survey starting April 2026.
• CMS drops tracking of a COVID-19 vaccine measure in home health quality reporting and removes some questions about living situation, food, and utilities.
• Medicare tightens rules to keep unqualified providers and suppliers out, including faster reporting of legal problems (30 days instead of 90) and more ways to revoke enrollment.
• For medical equipment like walkers, supplies, and some diabetes devices, Medicare updates competitive bidding, adds more oversight, and moves some diabetes devices to a monthly rental model so upgrades can happen sooner.