politics
CMS Imposes Six-Month Moratorium on New Hospice and Home Health Agency Medicare Enrollment
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services halted new enrollments nationwide on May 13, 2026, to intensify fraud investigations. The pause, part of the Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts, follows suspensions of payments to hundreds of providers and the withholding of billions in federal funds. Officials cited rapid industry growth and multimillion-dollar schemes as justification.
May 13, 8:00 AM·2m read4 sources
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services placed a moratorium on new hospice and home health agency providers on May 13, 2026. The six-month pause allows CMS to ramp up investigations into providers suspected of fraud while preventing those defrauding the system from evading detection by moving across state lines.
The Trump administration announced a nationwide freeze on new Medicare enrollment for hospices and home health agencies for six months on the same day.
During the freeze, CMS will escalate investigations and accelerate the removal of hospice and home health agencies suspected of committing fraud. The moratorium will not end or halt current enrollments from hospice patients. Existing hospice and home health providers will still be able to provide services during the pause.
4 billion in federal funding from home health and hospice providers nationwide. 3 billion in Medicaid payments to California over allegations of widespread fraud, the administration’s largest healthcare funding threat to date. CMS has suspended $70 million in payments to 773 hospices and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in Los Angeles.
Approximately 90% of the suspended providers have not reached out to CMS since payments have been suspended. Trump administration officials said they believe the lack of communication indicates that the providers were not legitimate enterprises.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who serves as CMS administrator, directed officials in all 50 states to share plans to swiftly revalidate high-risk Medicaid providers within 10 days. He also directed them to provide a two-year strategy for reviewing all Medicaid providers within 30 days.
Mississippi will audit Medicaid providers as a part of the federal fraud probe. The Trump administration threatened a two-year licensing freeze for new providers of home and community-based services in Minnesota in January and instituted a similar nationwide halt on durable medical equipment suppliers in February.
