En esta noticia The United States government froze enrollments of new home health care and hospice providers in Medicare for a minimum of six months. The measure prevents any new provider from registering to receive reimbursements from the federal program, which covers Americans over 65 and people with disabilities. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed that the freeze does not affect those who were already enrolled.

The suspension is aimed exclusively at new providers and responds to what the administration described as widespread fraud in these two sectors. What does the Medicare freeze mean and who does it leave out? For at least six months, no new home health provider (home health) nor hospice provider (hospice) will be able to join Medicare’s reimbursement system.

CMS will use that period to audit expenses and strengthen the program’s oversight. The measure establishes a clear distinction depending on the type of actor: The following are left out of the program: - New home health providers not registered at the time of the announcement. - New hospice agencies that were seeking to join Medicare. - Companies or professionals planning to operate in these fields with federal funding. Not affected: - Providers already enrolled in Medicare: they continue operating normally. - Current patients: they do not lose coverage or have their care interrupted.

Why did the Government make this decision and what could happen next? The freeze is part of the anti-fraud strategy pushed by Vice President JD Vance, who had already suspended enrollments of durable medical equipment providers. According to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, tens of billions of dollars are lost each year because of irregularities in the system.

Unlike previous measures — focused on specific counties —, this freeze applies nationwide. In 2024, about 1.8 million beneficiaries received hospice care at a cost of $28.3 billion, and 2.7 million used home health care for $16 billion, according to data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.