CMS Extends Medicare Enrollment Moratoria for Hospices and Home Health Agencies, While Easing Restrictions on New Locations

On November 12, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended its nationwide Medicare enrollment moratoria for new hospices and home health agencies (HHAs) for an additional six months. CMS began the moratorium on May 13, 2026, which we discussed in “CMS Expands Fraud Enforcement with Nationwide Moratoria on Hospice and HHA Enrollments.” Notably, in this week’s extension, CMS narrowed the scope of the moratorium, allowing currently enrolled hospice and home health providers to add new practice locations within their existing enrollment.  

What Changed?

CMS initially imposed nationwide moratoria on the enrollment of new hospices and HHAs in May 2026 in response to concerns regarding fraud, waste, and abuse. CMS has determined that those concerns remain (through a number of enforcement examples) and has therefore extended both moratoria for another six-month period.

The moratoria continues to apply nationwide, which CMS believes “prevents potentially fraudulent operators from circumventing the enrollment restrictions by moving across state lines.” CMS also noted that multiple states, including Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, have implemented their own state moratoria, but that it does not intend to impact any of those existing moratoria as it emphasizes that the decision to implement a state moratoria rests with the states.

Importantly, however, CMS has scaled back the scope of the moratoria. Currently enrolled HHAs may add new branches; and currently enrolled hospices may add new practice locations. CMS explained that its current program-integrity concerns are greater with respect to entirely new providers than with established Medicare providers seeking to expand their existing operations. CMS has issued an FAQ addressing the initial moratoria. 

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The Goodwin Healthcare team will continue to monitor these developments and their potential impact on healthcare providers and other industry participants. For more information on the issues discussed in this alert, please contact the authors, reach out to our Healthcare Regulatory and Compliance group, or contact the Goodwin lawyer with whom you typically consult.

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