Rep. Ritchie Torres: CMS Pullback on Home Health Cuts Is a Step, But New York Still Faces Serious and Unaddressed Threats

Today, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) said that CMS’s decision to scale back part of its proposed home health cuts for 2026 is a modest improvement but leaves major problems unresolved for New York. Rep. Torres warned that the final rule does not confront the real drivers of instability in the home health system and still imposes cuts that will deepen access challenges in the Bronx.

CMS reduced its originally proposed 9 percent nationwide cut to about 4 percent by limiting its “behavioral adjustments” to earlier years. After the annual update, the net change is roughly a 1.3 percent cut nationwide. In New York City, an additional 1.4 percent reduction to the wage index brings the total cut for the Bronx and NYC to about 2.7 percent.

This follows almost 10 percent in cumulative cuts since 2020, with another 4.7 billion dollars in “temporary adjustments” that CMS plans to recoup in the years ahead.

“CMS may have stepped back from the deepest cuts, but the final rule still places unacceptable pressure on home health agencies that already operate on the edge,” said Rep. Torres. “What troubles me most is that CMS continues to deny there is an access crisis despite overwhelming evidence from families, clinicians, and providers. At the same time, the agency refuses to address the fraudulent and highly suspect billing patterns that are distorting national payment rates. New York should not be punished because CMS has failed to deal with abuse elsewhere.”

“The Bronx cannot absorb year after year of cuts while CMS looks the other way on fraud and ignores the real-world impact on patients. Our delegation will keep pressing for a home health payment system that reflects the needs of high-cost, high-need communities and protects the families who rely on this care every day.”

Rep. Torres led a bipartisan New York delegation letter this fall urging CMS to withdraw the proposed 9 percent cut and warning that further reductions would jeopardize medically vulnerable patients in high-cost states like New York. He said today that the revised rule reflects congressional pressure but still falls far short of what is needed.