Joint Commission Eyes Continued Medicare Home Health Nod
Published Date: 4/3/2026
Notice
Summary
The Joint Commission wants to keep being approved to check home health agencies that work with Medicare and Medicaid. This means these agencies can keep getting help from these programs if they meet the rules. People have until May 4, 2026, to share their thoughts on this plan, but no money changes are expected right now.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
JC Approval Affects Home Health Participation
The Joint Commission (JC) has applied to continue being an approved accrediting organization for home health agencies (HHAs). If CMS re-approves JC, HHAs accredited by JC may be deemed to meet Medicare Conditions of Participation and remain eligible to participate in Medicare or Medicaid; JC's current term of approval expires March 30, 2026 and CMS received a complete application on September 2, 2025 with up to 210 days to publish approval or denial.
Public Comment Opportunity on JC Application
The notice opens a public comment period on JC's application for continued approval; comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. on May 4, 2026 and may be posted publicly on Regulations.gov. CMS will consider comments received by that deadline when it later issues an approval or denial.
No New Information-Collection Burden
This proposed notice states it does not impose new information collection, reporting, recordkeeping, or third-party disclosure requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act. That means CMS is not adding new federal paperwork requirements as part of this notice.
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