The hospice payment rule has yet to clear the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the final step in the process prior to publication in the Federal Registry.
As of April 1, the Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index, Payment Rate Update and Quality Reporting Requirements proposed rule was still listed at the OMB website as “under review.”
There has been a clear shift in administrative priorities this year, increasing the interest in what 2026 rulemaking will look like, including changes to payment rates and quality measures. One of the first changes was a notice that the Department of Health and Human Services would not be following rulemaking norms, only pledging to meet minimum statutory requirements.
The proposed rule is typically released in April to allow time for comments and a response from CMS prior to the final rule being published on or about Aug. 1.
While the release has been in the last week of March over the last three years, the publication was later in the spring during and in the years prior to the pandemic.
Home Health Line will send a breaking alert when the proposed rule is released, with analysis and reaction from experts in an upcoming issue.