{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/mcbride-van-drew-lead-bipartisan-push-halt-harmful-cuts-home-health-care", "McBride, Van Drew Lead Bipartisan Push to Halt Harmful Cuts to Home Health Care", "2025-10-15", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Sarah McBride", "M001238", "mcbride.house.gov", "mcbride", "https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representatives Sarah McBride (D-DE) and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) led a bipartisan letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to pause implementation of proposed Medicare home health payment cuts for Calendar Year 2026, warning that the reductions would undermine access to critical in-home care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.\n\nIn coordination with the Delaware Association for Home and Community Care (DAHCC), the lawmakers\u2019 letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz expressed \u201cdeep concerns with the proposed changes to Medicare home health 30-day payment rates announced on June 30, 2025.\u201d The proposed rule would reduce aggregate payments by 6.4% in 2026\u2014amounting to $1.135 billion in cuts nationwide\u2014on top of nearly 9% in reductions over the past three years.\n\n\u201cFor millions of older Americans, home health care isn\u2019t a luxury\u2014it\u2019s a lifeline,\u201d said Congresswoman McBride. \u201cThese cuts would make it harder for patients to recover safely at home, worsen workforce shortages, and force families to turn to more expensive hospital or nursing home care. Delawareans deserve a health system that invests in care, not cuts it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe last thing our seniors and families need is a cut that makes it harder to get care at home,\u201d said Congressman Van Drew. \u201cHome health is what allows people to stay close to their loved ones, recover safely, and maintain their independence. I\u2019m proud to co-lead this effort on an issue that means so much to so many families.\u201d\n\nCMS is also considering additional reductions\u2014including a permanent 4.1% payment cut, a temporary 5.0% reduction to recoup pandemic-era overpayments, and a 0.5% decrease tied to high-cost outlier payments\u2014all of which would further strain providers already struggling to recruit and retain skilled caregivers.\n\nCiting CMS\u2019s own data, McBride and Van Drew noted that more than 70% of U.S. counties served fewer Traditional Medicare home health patients and saw many communities\u2014especially in rural areas\u2014close home health agencies in recent years. In states like Delaware and New Jersey, thousands have lost access to services since 2019, and many patients referred to home health after hospitalization never received care.\n\nThe lawmakers called on CMS to reconsider its methodology and pause any further payment reductions in order to protect patient access to home health services. The full letter is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/mcbride-van-drew-lead-bipartisan-push-halt-harmful-cuts-home-health-care"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7718069721013308, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}