CMS has announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for home health agencies and hospices, a move that could affect startups, expansion plans, acquisitions, and organizations preparing to enter the home-based care market.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the temporary moratorium on May 13, 2026, citing concerns related to fraud, waste, and abuse in the home health and hospice sectors. According to CMS, the action applies nationwide and is intended to prevent potentially fraudulent new providers from entering the Medicare program while the agency strengthens oversight.
The moratorium applies to new Medicare enrollments for home health agencies and hospice providers. CMS has clarified that existing Medicare-enrolled providers may continue serving beneficiaries, and the action does not shut down current home health or hospice operations.
The Federal Register notices confirm that the moratoria are effective May 13, 2026, and will remain in effect for six months unless CMS extends them.
What the moratorium means
For organizations planning to open a new home health agency or hospice, the immediate impact is significant: CMS is not accepting new Medicare enrollments for these provider types during the moratorium period.
That does not necessarily mean all planning activity stops. State licensure processes, accreditation preparation, policy development, staffing plans, EMR setup, and operational readiness may still continue depending on the state and the organization’s specific circumstances.
But the Medicare enrollment piece is now paused.
That matters because Medicare certification is often central to the financial and operational model for home health and hospice providers. A delay in Medicare enrollment can affect startup timelines, cash flow projections, referral planning, payer contracting, and launch strategy.
Why CMS took this action
CMS said the moratorium is part of a broader effort to address fraud and abuse in federal healthcare programs. Home health and hospice have both received increased scrutiny in recent years due to concerns about improper billing, questionable ownership structures, rapid growth in certain markets, and providers attempting to bypass previous enforcement actions by forming new entities.
Historically, CMS has used enrollment moratoria in more targeted geographic areas. A nationwide moratorium is more unusual and signals a more aggressive enforcement posture toward these provider categories.
For legitimate providers, that creates a difficult situation. The majority of operators are trying to deliver needed care, but the enrollment freeze affects the entire country, not only the areas where CMS believes fraud has been most concentrated.
Existing providers are not exempt from scrutiny
Although the moratorium is focused on new enrollments, existing home health and hospice agencies should not ignore the signal CMS is sending.
The agency’s stated focus on program integrity means current providers may also want to review compliance practices, billing patterns, documentation, referral relationships, ownership records, and operational controls.
For agencies considering expansion, acquisitions, or ownership changes, the moratorium may also complicate transaction planning. CMS has indicated that certain changes in majority ownership may be treated as a new enrollment depending on the circumstances, which means buyers and sellers should evaluate Medicare enrollment implications carefully before moving forward.
What startups and expanding agencies should watch
For home health startups and organizations that were preparing to enter the market, the next six months will be important.
Key questions to consider:
- Can state licensure still move forward?
- Should accreditation preparation continue?
- Is the 855A application ready for submission once the moratorium ends?
- Will the moratorium be lifted after six months, or extended?
- How will this affect startup budgets and operating timelines?
- Could the pause create a backlog when CMS begins accepting applications again?
- How does this affect acquisition strategy?
The most important takeaway is that the moratorium is temporary, but the downstream effects may last longer than six months. If many organizations submit applications as soon as the moratorium ends, processing delays could continue well beyond the formal freeze.
Preparing while the moratorium is in place
The CMS moratorium may pause Medicare enrollment, but it does not pause preparation.
Organizations planning to start or expand a home health agency can still use this time to work through state licensure planning, policies and procedures, EMR setup, staffing models, accreditation readiness, referral strategy, and preparation of the 855A so they are ready when CMS begins accepting applications again.
Gravity Consulting helps organizations build that foundation before the enrollment window opens. If your organization is evaluating a home health startup, expansion, or operational strategy, we can help you understand what can move forward now and what needs to be ready next.