Hospice & Home Health News 2026Jan22

CMS Hosting LEAD Model Webinar January 29

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a webinar on Thursday, January 29 at 2:00 PM ET about the Long-term Enhancing ACO Design Model. This webinar will cover the model goals, participation options, eligibility and payment methodology as well as more information on the application process, timeline, and resources. This new 10-year, voluntary model builds upon existing and previous models while testing some first-time features related to provider payments, integration, and beneficiary enhancements. Like ACO REACH, it also includes a focus on high-risk populations but creates new incentives through new beneficiary enhancements and payment mechanisms. It is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027, as the ACO REACH comes to an end on December 31, 2026. Register here to attend.

Home Health January 2026 Care Compare Refresh Now Live

The January 2026 refresh of the Home Health Quality Reporting Program is now available on the Compare Tool on Medicare.gov and Provider Data Catalog (PDC). The data are based on quality assessment data submitted by Home Health Agencies (HHAs) to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from Quarter 2, 2024 through Quarter 1, 2025. The data for the claims-based measures will display data from Quarter 1, 2023 through Quarter 4, 2024 for the Discharge to Community and Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary measures, Quarter 1, 2022 through Quarter 4, 2024 for the Potentially Preventable 30-Day Post-Discharge Readmission measure, and Quarter 1, 2024 through Quarter 4, 2024 for the Home Health Within-Stay Potentially Preventable Hospitalization measure. Additionally, the data for the HHCAHPS measures will display data from Quarter 3, 2024 through Quarter 2, 2025. The January 2026 refresh includes one new OASIS-based measure, COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients Who Are Up to Date. This is the first and only quarter the OASIS-based COVID measure data will be shared.

CMS Releases CY2024 HHVBP Performance Data

On January 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released performance data on the Expanded Home Health Value Based Purchasing model for performance year 2024. This data includes national averages of call measure used to calculate performance scores as well as data on each individual participating home health organization, including their annual payment percentage adjustments for CY2026 payments. LeadingAge will be working to analyze this data for members to determine the effectiveness of the program as well as its impact on non-profit providers.

Here is your weekly  Home Health Weekly Recap from National.

Here is your weekly  Hospice Weekly Recap from National.