Medicare Seeks $280 Million Pay Cut for Home Health Agencies

Overall Medicare payments to home health agencies in 2025 would decrease by 1.7%, or $280 million compared with 2024, under a proposed payment rule released Wednesday by the Biden administration.

The total amount reflects a 2025 payment increase of 2.5%, or $415 million, according to the proposal (RIN 0938-AV28 ) by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But that amount would be offset by an estimated 3.6% payment cut of $595 million as part of a “proposed permanent behavior adjustment” based on the assumption that home health agencies altered their billing and coding activity to maximize reimbursements in previous ...