Policy & oversight
Medicare Finalizes 2027 Home Health Rule, Covering Palliative Care and Tightening Ownership Screening
A rule published today in the Federal Register confirms that Medicare-covered skilled home health visits may now explicitly include palliative care services, and requires agencies to re-enroll with Medicare whenever the majority owner changes.
By the Goodsurance editorial teamNovember 9, 2026
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published its 2027 home health payment final rule in the Federal Register on November 9, adding two provisions with direct consumer implications alongside routine rate updates.
On coverage, the rule confirms that home health agencies may provide palliative care services as part of skilled nursing visits Medicare already covers. Covered activities include pain and symptom management, patient and caregiver education, and care planning. CMS said the clarification is meant to address uncertainty among providers that may have limited access to these services; it does not create a new benefit category or change eligibility requirements. CMS plans to issue additional guidance examples following publication.
Medicare's 2027 home health rule is now official: palliative care is a covered part of skilled home visits, and agencies must re-enroll when ownership changes.
On provider integrity, the rule requires home health agencies, hospices, and medical equipment suppliers to re-enroll with Medicare whenever a majority ownership change occurs, including acquisition by a private equity firm. CMS also broadened its authority to revoke a provider's Medicare billing privileges when the provider's parent company violates the rules of another federal health program. CMS estimates these enrollment and revocation changes will save approximately 82 million dollars annually.
On payment, CMS projects an aggregate increase of approximately 2.4 percent, or about 415 million dollars, in Medicare payments to home health agencies for 2027 compared with 2026. The underlying market basket update is 2.1 percent, with additional increases from adjustments to outlier payment calculations.
The rule, designated CMS-1844-F, takes effect January 1, 2027.
In plain words
Medicare finalized a rule about home health care that takes effect in January 2027. It makes three things official. First, nurses visiting Medicare patients at home may now provide palliative care as part of an already-covered visit. Palliative care helps manage pain and other symptoms of serious illness. Second, when a home health company gets a new majority owner, it must re-enroll with Medicare. That helps keep bad actors from slipping in through a sale. CMS says these steps will save about 82 million dollars a year. Third, the payment rate for home health agencies will go up about 2.4 percent, or about 415 million dollars total, compared with 2026.
Understand the basics first
Source: CMS
Read at the source →