Hospice & Home Health News 2026Mar26

CMS Releases Report on Hospice Wage Index TEP

In September 2025, a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) meeting was convened by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to discuss potential changes to the Medicare Hospice Wage Index. LeadingAge's Katy Barnett, Director, Home Care and Hospice Operations and Policy served on the panel along with several LeadingAge members. The purpose of the TEP meeting was to seek feedback from panelists on a proposed alternative to the current hospice wage index, which would utilize new data sources including claims data and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This TEP meeting represented the first step in acquiring stakeholder and expert input to inform these refinements as CMS analyzes and supports potential changes to the hospice payment system. CMS made available the TEP summary report, which summarizes the discussion and recommendations of the Technical Expert Panel, as well as the TEP technical report, which provides a detailed examination of the discussed alternative approaches.

House Launches Investigation into Hospice Fraud in Southern California

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on March 23 detailing their concerns regarding the growth of fraudulent hospice agencies in California. This House Committee is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under House Rule X. The letter cites that the Committee's investigate into Minnesota's federally funded social services programs uncovered similar "failures by state agencies to conduct oversight". The Committee asked for information covering the time period of January 1, 2019 to present with the deadline of April 6, 2026. The following information was requested: 

• All documents and communications among or between the Governor’s office and the Department of Health Care Services covering California’s Medicare Part A hospice programs and Medi-Cal hospice programs, including but not limited to enrollment and verification, licensure and certification, complaints against licensed hospice agencies, investigations, reimbursement requests, audit documentation, audit reports, payment reviews, and regulations that establish the process for verifying the identity and qualifications of hospice agency management personnel;
• All documents and communications among or between the Governor’s office and the Department of Public Health covering California’s Medicare Part A hospice programs and Medi-Cal hospice programs, including but not limited to enrollment and verification, licensure and certification, complaints against licensed hospice agencies, investigations, reimbursement requests, audit documentation, audit reports, payment reviews, and regulations that establish the process for verifying the identity and qualifications of hospice agency management personnel;
• All documents and communications among or between the Governor’s office and the Department of Social Services covering California’s Medicare Part A hospice programs and Medi-Cal hospice programs, including but not limited to enrollment and verification, licensure and certification, complaints against licensed hospice agencies, investigations, reimbursement requests, audit documentation, audit reports, payment reviews, and regulations that establish the process for verifying the identity and qualifications of hospice agency management personnel;
• All documents and communications between the Governor’s office and the California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) covering California’s Medicare Part A and Medi-Cal hospice programs including but not limited to the number of complaints received about hospice agencies, the number of investigations opened into hospice agencies for provider fraud, as well as abuse or neglect of patients in facilities receiving federal funds, reports about those investigations, the number of prosecutions against hospice providers and audits showing improper billing or fraud.

LeadingAge has been following the issues regarding growing fraud in the hospice program since 2022. Over the past several years LeadingAge has engaged with letters to policymakers on program integrity, developing legislation to address fraud, and as recently as December 2025 sent further recommendations on how to change enrollment, enforcement, and oversight for home health and hospice providers.

Here is your weekly  Home Health Weekly Recap from National.

Here is your weekly  Hospice Weekly Recap from National.