By Christopher Rinn

Every week, I meet families trying to do the right thing for their loved ones: keeping them safe, comfortable, and cared for at home. For many, home health services make that possible. But a newly proposed Medicare rule threatens to put that care out of reach.

On June 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that would reduce Medicare payment rates for home health services by 9% in 2026. That amounts to more than $1.1 billion in reduced payments to home health agencies nationwide, putting essential care out of reach for many seniors and people with disabilities.

By law, CMS must adjust payments to keep the Medicare home health system “budget-neutral.” But the proposed rule goes too far. It relies on outdated projections from b

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