Trump's Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May

On Nov. 12 the Trump administration extended its nationwide freeze on new hospices and home health agencies joining Medicare. The freeze now runs through May 12, 2027 ¹³. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that runs Medicare, said fraud in both fields has not been rooted out ¹.

If you or someone in your family already gets hospice or home health care, nothing changes. The freeze does not affect agencies already enrolled in Medicare, and it does not stop them from caring for patients ¹². It blocks only new agencies, plus certain sales of a majority stake that would require a new Medicare enrollment ¹².

fraud in hospice and home health persists and our work isn't finished.

What changed this time

The first freeze started May 13, 2026. Vice President JD Vance and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced it ²⁸. The new version has one change: agencies already in Medicare may now open new locations under their current enrollment ¹². A summary of the federal notices says existing hospices can add practice locations and home health agencies can add branches starting Nov. 12 ³.

CMS pointed to its enforcement record. In October, a two-day sweep of agencies in California led Medicare to remove 145 hospice and home health providers. Those providers had received more than $703 million from Medicare and Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people ¹⁴.

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The federal notices also describe tighter oversight in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. As of June 2025, CMS had removed 122 of about 670 hospices reviewed, roughly 18%. For providers in general, the usual rate is about 1% to 3% ³. CMS says the freeze has not caused a meaningful drop in access to either service, nationally or in any state, and that it will keep watching rural areas ³.

Medicare beneficiaries deserve protection from these bad actors.

Providers call it a blunt tool

Hospice and home health groups had asked CMS to let the freeze expire. The National Alliance for Care at Home wrote to the agency Sept. 4. LeadingAge, which represents 5,300 nonprofit providers and had at first supported the freeze, wrote Sept. 9 with 18 other organizations ⁵.

Jennifer Sheets, the Alliance's chief executive, wrote that "Data consistently identifies fraud hotspots concentrated in specific metropolitan areas and states" ⁵. In other words, the group says the problem is concentrated in certain areas, while the freeze covers the whole country.

The Alliance also pointed to a gap in care. In the third quarter of 2025, 38% of Medicare patients sent home from the hospital with a referral for home health care never got it, and rural patients did worse ⁵. The group said the freeze did not cause that gap but blocks the providers best placed to close it ⁵. Some health systems have delayed or dropped home health partnerships because new agencies cannot apply to Medicare ⁵.

That matters because the new rule on added locations answers only part of the complaint. No new agency can join Medicare anywhere in the country, including in markets with no evidence of widespread fraud ². Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island also have their own state hospice freezes, which the federal action does not change ³⁴.

Fraud is not a blue-state problem

The Trump administration has made Medicare and Medicaid fraud a political theme. When the freeze began in May, Vance and Oz announced it alongside other fraud actions that PBS described as focusing on Democratic-run states ⁸. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called Oz's demand over alleged fraud in her state a political attack ⁸.

Rep. Linda Sánchez, a California Democrat, challenged that framing at an April 23 hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. She asked the witnesses, including those invited by the Republican majority, whether Medicare fraud happens only in blue states. All of them agreed it happens in every state ⁶. She pointed to Texas, where the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that a hospice executive had falsely enrolled Alzheimer's and dementia patients by telling them they had only months to live ⁶.

Let the record reflect that everybody agrees it happens in all states.

Democrats have their own plan. On March 17, Sánchez and Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, introduced the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement Act, known as the Hospice CARE Act ⁷. It would also temporarily stop new hospices from joining Medicare, but with exceptions where patients need access to care ⁷.

The bill would also require hospices to disclose more about who owns and controls them, inspect new hospices more often, and send patients an explanation of their benefits within 15 days of choosing hospice ⁷. It would add respite care at home to give family caregivers a break. It would also raise payments for treatments that ease pain and symptoms, such as palliative radiation, chemotherapy, blood transfusions and dialysis ⁷.

Making decisions about hospice and end-of-life care is one of the most difficult moments that families can endure

The pattern is clear. Both parties agree hospice fraud is real. The disagreement is over how to fight it. The administration has chosen a nationwide lock on new agencies. The Democratic bill pairs a pause that has exceptions for patient access with a rewrite of a benefit that Sánchez said has gone largely unchanged since it was created in 1982 ⁶⁷. CMS can renew its freeze six months at a time, so the next decision comes in May ²³.

The Record

1. Mar 17, 2026Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Linda Sánchez introduce the Hospice CARE Act to overhaul Medicare's hospice benefit and fight fraud ⁷
2. Apr 23, 2026At a Ways and Means hearing, Sánchez gets witnesses to agree that Medicare fraud happens in every state, not just blue states ⁶
3. May 13, 2026CMS begins a six-month nationwide freeze on new Medicare hospice and home health agencies ²⁸
4. Sep 9, 2026LeadingAge and 18 other groups ask CMS to let the freeze expire; the National Alliance for Care at Home made the same request Sept. 4 ⁵
5. Nov 12, 2026CMS extends the freeze through May 12, 2027, but lets existing agencies add locations ¹³

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<h2>Trump&#39;s Medicare agency extends freeze on new hospices and home health agencies to May</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Kitchen-Table Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-s-medicare-agency-extends-freeze-on-new-hospices-and-home-health-agencies">The GOP Files</a> on Friday, November 13, 2026.</em></p> <p>On Nov. 12 the Trump administration extended its nationwide freeze on new hospices and home health agencies joining Medicare. The freeze now runs through May 12, 2027 . The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that runs Medicare, said fraud in both fields has not been rooted out .</p> <p>If you or someone in your family already gets hospice or home health care, nothing changes. The freeze does not affect agencies already enrolled in Medicare, and it does not stop them from caring for patients . It blocks only new agencies, plus certain sales of a majority stake that would require a new Medicare enrollment .</p> <blockquote><p>fraud in hospice and home health persists and our work isn&#39;t finished.</p><p>&mdash; Mehmet Oz, Administrator, Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services</p></blockquote> <h2>What changed this time</h2> <p>The first freeze started May 13, 2026. Vice President JD Vance and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced it . The new version has one change: agencies already in Medicare may now open new locations under their current enrollment . A summary of the federal notices says existing hospices can add practice locations and home health agencies can add branches starting Nov. 12 .</p> <p>CMS pointed to its enforcement record. In October, a two-day sweep of agencies in California led Medicare to remove 145 hospice and home health providers. Those providers had received more than $703 million from Medicare and Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people .</p> <p>The federal notices also describe tighter oversight in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. As of June 2025, CMS had removed 122 of about 670 hospices reviewed, roughly 18%. For providers in general, the usual rate is about 1% to 3% . CMS says the freeze has not caused a meaningful drop in access to either service, nationally or in any state, and that it will keep watching rural areas .</p> <blockquote><p>Medicare beneficiaries deserve protection from these bad actors.</p><p>&mdash; Mehmet Oz, Administrator, Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services</p></blockquote> <h2>Providers call it a blunt tool</h2> <p>Hospice and home health groups had asked CMS to let the freeze expire. The National Alliance for Care at Home wrote to the agency Sept. 4. LeadingAge, which represents 5,300 nonprofit providers and had at first supported the freeze, wrote Sept. 9 with 18 other organizations .</p> <p>Jennifer Sheets, the Alliance&#39;s chief executive, wrote that &quot;Data consistently identifies fraud hotspots concentrated in specific metropolitan areas and states&quot; . In other words, the group says the problem is concentrated in certain areas, while the freeze covers the whole country.</p> <p>The Alliance also pointed to a gap in care. In the third quarter of 2025, 38% of Medicare patients sent home from the hospital with a referral for home health care never got it, and rural patients did worse . The group said the freeze did not cause that gap but blocks the providers best placed to close it . Some health systems have delayed or dropped home health partnerships because new agencies cannot apply to Medicare .</p> <p>That matters because the new rule on added locations answers only part of the complaint. No new agency can join Medicare anywhere in the country, including in markets with no evidence of widespread fraud . Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island also have their own state hospice freezes, which the federal action does not change .</p> <h2>Fraud is not a blue-state problem</h2> <p>The Trump administration has made Medicare and Medicaid fraud a political theme. When the freeze began in May, Vance and Oz announced it alongside other fraud actions that PBS described as focusing on Democratic-run states . Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called Oz&#39;s demand over alleged fraud in her state a political attack .</p> <p>Rep. Linda Sánchez, a California Democrat, challenged that framing at an April 23 hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. She asked the witnesses, including those invited by the Republican majority, whether Medicare fraud happens only in blue states. All of them agreed it happens in every state . She pointed to Texas, where the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that a hospice executive had falsely enrolled Alzheimer&#39;s and dementia patients by telling them they had only months to live .</p> <blockquote><p>Let the record reflect that everybody agrees it happens in all states.</p><p>&mdash; Linda Sánchez, U.S. Representative, D-Calif.</p></blockquote> <p>Democrats have their own plan. On March 17, Sánchez and Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, introduced the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement Act, known as the Hospice CARE Act . It would also temporarily stop new hospices from joining Medicare, but with exceptions where patients need access to care .</p> <p>The bill would also require hospices to disclose more about who owns and controls them, inspect new hospices more often, and send patients an explanation of their benefits within 15 days of choosing hospice . It would add respite care at home to give family caregivers a break. It would also raise payments for treatments that ease pain and symptoms, such as palliative radiation, chemotherapy, blood transfusions and dialysis .</p> <blockquote><p>Making decisions about hospice and end-of-life care is one of the most difficult moments that families can endure</p><p>&mdash; Mark Warner, U.S. Senator, D-Va.</p></blockquote> <p>The pattern is clear. Both parties agree hospice fraud is real. The disagreement is over how to fight it. The administration has chosen a nationwide lock on new agencies. The Democratic bill pairs a pause that has exceptions for patient access with a rewrite of a benefit that Sánchez said has gone largely unchanged since it was created in 1982 . CMS can renew its freeze six months at a time, so the next decision comes in May .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-s-medicare-agency-extends-freeze-on-new-hospices-and-home-health-agencies">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/trump-s-medicare-agency-extends-freeze-on-new-hospices-and-home-health-agencies.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “CMS Extends and Modifies Nationwide Freeze on New Medicare Hospice and Home Health Enrollment for Six Months to Combat Fraud” (2026-11-12). cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-extends-modifies-nationw
2. Home Health Care News, “CMS Extends Medicare Home Health, Hospice Moratorium” (2026-11-12). homehealthcarenews.com/2026/11/cms-extends-medicare-home-hea
3. Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP), “Home Health and Hospice Enrollment Moratoria Extended Through May 12, 2027” (2026-11-12). chapinc.org/blog-news/home-health-and-hospice-enrollment-mor
4. DistilINFO, “Enrollment Moratorium Extended for Hospice, Home Health” (2026-11-13). distilinfo.com/2026/11/13/cms-hospice-home-health-enrollment
5. Home Health Care News, “As Home Health Moratorium Nears Expiration, Advocates Press CMS Against Extension” (2026-09-09). homehealthcarenews.com/2026/09/as-home-health-moratorium-nea
6. Office of Rep. Linda T. Sánchez, “Sánchez Debunks Trump's Medicare Fraud Lies” (2026-04-23). lindasanchez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sanchez-d
7. Office of Sen. Mark R. Warner, “Warner, Sánchez introduce Hospice CARE Act” (2026-03-17). warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warner-s/
8. PBS NewsHour, “WATCH: Vance and Oz announce numerous moves on Medicaid and Medicare fraud focusing on Democratic-run states” (2026-05-13). pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-vance-and-oz-announce-numero

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