# 119-hr-7966: Hospice CARE Act of 2026

119-hr-7966, Hospice CARE Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7966
- As of: 2026-09-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7966
- Congress: 119
- Title: Hospice CARE Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-30

## Summary

**A 5-year nationwide moratorium on new hospice programs** sits at the center of this bill, which also tightens enrollment checks, ownership transparency, beneficiary notices, and Medicare payment rules. It aims to curb aberrant billing while boosting oversight and clearer information for patients. - Patients and families get a mandatory Explanation of Benefits within 15 days and a new short-term home respite benefit capped at 120 hours per 90-day period. - Hospice providers face a 60-month moratorium on most new enrollments, mandatory revalidation with published ownership data, stricter change-in-ownership rules, and civil penalties up to $1,000,000 per violation. - Medicare will expand prepayment medical review and create a technical expert panel to flag aberrant billing, and it phases in wage-indexed caps and rate changes starting in fiscal year 2030. Oversight and survey funding is increased by $15,000,000 yearly for fiscal year 2027 and beyond.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2026-09-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1] (D-CT), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4] (D-NV), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-SC), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Clear election notices and addendum: benefit, low. If enacted, the government would have to send an Explanation of Benefits to each person who elects hospice within 15 days. That notice would list the hospice name, contact info, certifying clinician, contractor phone number, and fraud contacts. For hospice elections made on or after October 1, 2027…
- Major Medicare hospice pay changes: mixed, high. If enacted, Medicare would change hospice payment rules and caps for several fiscal years and require CMS audits and technical panels to set new payment methods. For FY2030 routine home care would be paid as a per‑day amount for non‑direct costs plus a per‑visit amount for direct care, and CMS woul…
- Changes to hospice respite and home care: mixed, medium. If enacted, a new short‑term home respite benefit would be payable for care in a person's home starting October 1, 2029. The benefit would be limited to 120 hours in any 90‑day hospice election period (or 80 hours in a 60‑day period). The bill changes inpatient counting rules so short inpatient sta…
- New clinical and certification rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, nurse practitioners and physician assistants could certify terminal illness for hospice elections made on or after October 1, 2027. For certifications where there is no independent attending doctor, an independent clinician without significant financial ties must certify starting Oct 1,…
- More audits, reviews, and penalties: mixed, medium. If enacted, Medicare would increase targeted prepayment reviews and audits for hospices with aberrant billing patterns, starting five years after enactment for long stays and during the moratorium for later 90‑day periods. CMS would require special training for medical reviewers starting January 1,…
- Stronger hospice ownership controls: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would pause new Medicare hospice enrollments for 5 years after enactment, with narrow exemptions for areas lacking access. Hospices would face longer ownership lookbacks for major sales during that moratorium (60 months instead of 36 months) and must revalidate enrollment…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-hr-7966 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7966)

## Related
- [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7966 (as of 2026-09-30).