Here’s the latest on CMS hospice enrollment moratorium as of May 2026:
CMS announced a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for hospice providers and home health agencies to curb fraud, waste, and abuse. Current providers remain able to deliver services, and inquiries about existing enrollments are not affected. The pause began May 13, 2026, with potential extensions in six-month increments depending on CMS’s fraud investigations and data analytics outcomes. [Source: CMS announcements and industry coverage published May 12–13, 2026]
The moratorium aims to enhance targeted investigations, accelerate removal of problematic providers, and deploy advanced analytics on enrollment data. It applies to initial enrollment applications and certain changes in majority ownership; changes in practice location or ownership that do not require initial enrollment are generally not blocked. Providers already enrolled can continue to serve Medicare beneficiaries during the pause.
Reactions and coverage from trade press indicate a broad enforcement intent, with CMS emphasizing fraud prevention and safeguarding taxpayer funds. Some stakeholders note potential access challenges for vulnerable populations if the pause is extended or applied more broadly, though the current stance is that patient access should not be disrupted for existing patients or new patients under care.
Related context: prior enrollments in hospices and HHAs had been targeted in earlier enforcement actions (including other sectors like DME) as part of a multi-pronged anti-fraud effort, and CMS has signaled willingness to extend the moratorium in six-month steps if fraud indicators warrant it.
Illustration of what to expect:
If you’d like, I can summarize the official CMS FAQs or pull the exact Federal Register notices and provide a concise checklist for providers navigating the moratorium.
CMS Enrollment MoratoriumCMS Freezes New Hospice and Home Health Enrollments Nationwide Industry leaders support fraud enforcement efforts but warn a broad moratorium could strain patient access and limit provider growth in vulnerable communities. A new six-month federal enrollment freeze aimed...
members.thinkhomecare.orgCMS has announced a six-month moratorium on new Medicare enrollments for hospices and home health agencies to combat fraud. Current providers remain unaffected.
www.homecaremag.comThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the six-month temporary suspension of enrollment of providers of hospice and home health agency services on Wednesday, in another administrative move to clamp down on fraud, waste and abuse.
www.washingtontimes.comThe agency is halting enrollments for six months as part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to crack down on fraud in government healthcare programs. Hospice and home health groups said they largely supported the moratorium.
www.healthcaredive.comThe Trump administration will block new home healthcare and hospice providers from enrolling in Medicare for at least the next six months, a nationwide pause that takes aim at a sector where federal officials say fraud has spread too far. The moratorium will temporarily bar new providers in those categories from signing up for Medicare reimbursement, but it will not affect companies already registered. … CMS said the pause is being imposed because of concerns about widespread fraud. The...
www.mogazmasr.comRumors have circulated that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is mulling a national moratorium on hospice provider enrollment in
hospicenews.comThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will pause the enrollment of new hospice and home health providers.
www.statnews.comA group of state hospice associations have expressed mounting concerns that a rumored national moratorium prohibiting new provider enrollments could
hospicenews.com