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by Kristin Rowan, Editor
Fight Against the Loss of Rural Veteran Care
Deep Cuts Impact All
Last November, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the 2026 VA Fee schedule, which became effective January 1st. There were significant changes to the fee schedule compared with previous years. By far the most concerning, though, was the “rate restructuring” for Home Health Aide and Homemaker codes in Texas and New Mexico.
Rate Restructure
Prior to 2026, Texas VA had a tiered fee structure. The tiered structure applied different rates for geographical areas based on _____. The restructure for 2026 applied a single statewide rate. This gave a slight increase in rate for some urban and suburban areas. However, the change created a drastic drop in rates for rural areas. For most Texas rural areas, it is a 43% reduction for Home Health Aides. The restructing results in a 19% decrease in New Mexico.
Tiered Rates
2025 VAFS rates were as high as $67 per hour in some rural areas. The hourly rate covered the time spent in the home, greatly increased travel time compared to urban visits, and differential incentives to entice caregivers to take these shifts that are often short and spread apart. The new statewide rate is $38 per hour. For the highest paying rural areas, this is a 43% rate cut.
Hours per Veteran
In addition to the rate cut, the number of hours per veteran has also dropped to an average 3.4 hours per shift. Some veterans are seeing their monthly hours cut by more than 30%.
Advocating for Change
State and national associations and advocacy groups reached out to the VA. Six senators and congresspeople reached out Doug Collins, secretary of the VA, to express their concerns. The VA has largely not responded to inquiries about the validity of the rate reduction and has not provided the analysis used to decide the new rate.
Notice and Comment Period
Most rate changes like this require advanced notice for agencies to adjust as well as a comment period when interested and impacted parties can contact lawmakers to provide feedback and ask questions. The announcement about these rate changes came in December and went into effect in January. The VA provided almost no notice and did not entertain comments or questions.
Collins Responds
“[The rate reductions] reflect our assessment that prior rates for these areas significantly exceeded prevailing market rates. Aligning these rates with market conditions is not expected to affect veteran care.”
Defying His Objective
When Collins accepted the role of Secretary of the VA, he thanked President Trump for the assignment and asked him, “What would you like me to do?” The President answered, “Take care of my Veterans.” In a statement to the press, Collins outlined how he would accomplish that mission. Second on his list is to “put Veterans as the center of everything VA does, focusing relentlessly on customer service and convenience.”
Fail
Creating care deserts in rural areas and forcing veterans to travel up to an hour to get care is not convenient. Reducing home care hours and raising the probability of veterans having to move to care facilities is not service. Secretary Collins is failing in his objective and failing his directive from the President. More importantly, he is failing our veterans.
Coalition with Polsinelli
The Rowan Report spoke with Angelo Spinola and Heather Looby of Polsinelli. Polsinelli has been actively working on getting the rate changes reversed. Spinola, an employment litigator with a special interest in home care, explained the situation in more detail. According to Spinola there has been little information from the VA and what communication exists has been inconsistent. Many of the letters sent to the VA get no response at all. Spinola says there are legal remedies available, but they are challenging and expensive. In a letter to the VA, Polsinelli outlined the risks and consequences of these actions and gave the VA 30 days to respond.
Join the Fight
Next week, we will bring you real stories of agencies and veterans impacted by the changes in Texas and New Mexico. Their stories are powerful and moving. Even still, you may think this isn’t your fight because
- A small enough percentage of your business is impacted
- You have agencies in other states making up the difference
- You don’t operate in Texas or New Mexico
Angelo cautions:
If they can do it in TX and NM, they can do it anywhere
“They” might be the VA changing rates that are unsubstantiated and contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act.
“They” might be CMS following suit and arbitrarily changing rates without analysis, notice, or comment.
“[Whether you are currently impacted by these changes or not,] the industry needs to get together to address this and join the fight before it’s too late; before it becomes the norm. “
How You Can Help
Write to your congressperson and senator and urge them to push Collins and the VA to reverse this change
Write to Collins and the VA directly with impact statements and concerns
Join the coalition with Polsinelli – PolsinelliHomeCare@polsinelli.
Final Thoughts
We have interviews scheduled with providers and veterans to bring you real stories of how this is impacting our industry. We will also continue our discussions with Polsinelli to get additional information and keep you updated on the progress of the 30-day deadline and additional action the coalition will take.
Honor our Veterans
It was just a few days ago that our nation celebrated Memorial Day in honor of the ultimate sacrifice made by so many. There are too many service men and women who never came home. The ones who did risked everything for you, for me, for this country, and for the ideals that make the United States what it is. They deserve to come home after that service and age with dignity and grace in their homes for as long as they can. We owe them at least that. We all have our own stories and paths that led us to care at home, but at the core of each of those stories is care. Our veterans need that care now. Reach out, write, advocate, join. Whatever you are able to do, now is the time for action.
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Kristin Rowan is the owner and Editor-in-chief of The Rowan Report, the industry’s most trusted source for care at home news. She is also a sought-after speaker on Artificial Intelligence, Technology Adoption and Lone Worker Safety. She is available to speak at state and national conferences as well as software user-group meetings.
Kristin also runs Girard Marketing Group, a multi-faceted boutique marketing firm specializing in content creation, social media management, and event marketing. She works with care at home software providers to create dynamic content that increases conversions for direct e-mail, social media, and websites. Connect with Kristin directly at kristin@girardmarketinggroup.com or www.girardmarketinggroup.com
©2026 by The Rowan Report, Peoria, AZ. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The Rowan Report. One copy may be printed for personal use: further reproduction by permission only. editor@therowanreport.com
