Yesterday, LeadingAge Ohio sent an alert about The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS) announcement of sweeping new nationwide enforcement actions targeting fraud, waste, and abuse within the hospice and home health sectors, including a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollments for hospices and home health agencies (HHAs). The moratorium took effect yesterday, May 13, 2026.
CMS stated the action is part of a broader federal anti-fraud initiative and reflects growing concerns regarding systemic fraud, questionable ownership activity, inappropriate billing practices, and rapid provider growth patterns in portions of the hospice and home health industries.
Importantly, existing Medicare-certified providers may continue operating and serving beneficiaries without interruption.
LeadingAge has developed an analysis of what members can expect here, and their press release can be found here.
After the announcement, CMS Administrator Dr. Oz and Vice President JD Vance held a press conference urging states to detail how they will combat Medicaid fraud after citing complications working with California, which is resulting in the administration withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid funds from that state. Learn more from this LeadingAge article.
In accordance with this request, the DeWine administration announced yesterday several new Medicaid fraud prevention initiatives aimed at strengthening oversight of home health and hospice providers participating in Ohio Medicaid. Governor DeWine stated that Ohio is partnering closely with the federal government and CMS to accelerate implementation of these reforms and expand existing program integrity efforts. View a summary of the initiatives here.
LeadingAge Ohio was invited to a meeting today with key members of the DeWine Administration to learn more about these initiatives. LeadingAge Ohio will send more information after this meeting.
LeadingAge Ohio is in full support of measures to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in our sector. LeadingAge Ohio members have been sounding the alarm, particularly around red flags with hospice programs in Ohio, and have been working with policymakers to strengthen regulations and increase transparency for consumers.
LeadingAge Ohio will continue to keep members updated on these emerging issues.