I’m coming to you live from HHCN’s FUTURE conference, where I’m having the pleasure of connecting with HHCN+ members, readers, and a slew of industry experts and leaders.

I’m currently tucked away at an out-of-the way table to bring you a few key insights from the event. I’m still processing my thoughts and the information I’m gathering from panels, new introductions and casual hallway conversations, so I’ll be back with more formal thoughts soon.

For now, I want to share two quick, striking takeaways from Day 1 at FUTURE.

So far, panel conversations have covered insights into the playbooks of CEOs who have newly stepped into their roles, personal home care companies that HHCN is tracking as providers to watch, and how the federal government’s increasingly intense focus on program integrity is impacting home health and home care providers, among others.

From panel discussions and casual conversations, I’ve been struck by how interrelated the home-based care industry is with the home medical equipment (HME) industry, and what we can learn from each other. I was also struck by a broader lesson: Providers can innovate in all kinds of ways, but they have to be dedicated first and foremost to building strong infrastructure and operational discipline.

In this week’s exclusive, members-only HHCN+ Update, I’ll share these two takeaways from day one at FUTURE:

— Lessons for overlapping industries

— The requirements for home-based care infrastructure and discipline

Overlapping industries

One of the most impactful takeaways from a panel I moderated about fraud, program integrity and compliance is how much the home-based care industry can learn from the HME industry.

I learned this because of one special element about FUTURE this year: It’s the first year we have officially combined the event with our sister publication, HME Business, to cover the worlds of home-based care and home medical equipment all in one event. That crossover became especially relevant in this conversation, as panelists drew parallels between the enforcement pressures facing HME providers, home health agencies and Medicaid-supported home care providers.

On the fraud-focused panel, we brought together Katie Wehri, vice president of regulatory affairs and quality and compliance at the National Alliance for Care at Home; Brian Holzer, CEO of Freedom Senior Services; and Gayle Devin, CEO of Home Care Delivered.

Hours before our speakers stepped on the main stage, CMS announced that the six-month temporary moratorium on accepting new Medicare durable medical equipment (DME) supplier enrollment applications expired as of Aug. 27, 2026.

Industry experts have previously told HHCN that the DME moratorium could give home health leaders insight into the future of the home health moratorium.  

The home health moratorium was announced as a six-month moratorium, with room for CMS to extend it in six-month increments. Hillary Loeffler, the vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at the Alliance, previously told HHCN that if CMS extended the DME moratorium, it could signal that the home health moratorium would also be extended.

The announcement of the DME moratorium’s expiration does not translate into an immediate sigh of relief for the home health industry, but it isn’t a bad sign. The expiration has both positive and negative elements for the DME industry, Devin said.

On one hand, it opens the door for compliant suppliers to expand. On the other, she said, it could give competitive bidding efforts a “green light,” potentially accelerating a process that suppliers worry could further limit provider participation and patient access. 

At the same time, the conversation was not an argument against fraud enforcement. In fact, all three panelists emphasized that legitimate providers should welcome more precise scrutiny of bad actors. The issue is whether enforcement can distinguish intentional fraud from isolated errors or operational shortcomings.

For now, I’ve seen firsthand that the home health and home care industries can look to the DME sector for insights into what an intense fraud crackdown can look like, as well as possible cues for what could happen next for the home health industry.

Home care requiring infrastructure, discipline

Panelists across the event are discussing exciting innovations, plans for growth, and the latest industry trends and transformational forces. What has also become clear is that providers require a backbone of quality, compliance and the frontline worker’s experience. This theme came up across multiple panels.

For Avid Health at Home, that means being intentional about how it integrates providers after an acquisition. Tammy Tenton, vice president of clinical and compliance at Avid Health at Home, described the importance of first verifying “ground truth” through data-quality audits, rather than assuming that an acquired organization’s existing processes will translate seamlessly to a larger platform. From there, the company can standardize systems, survey readiness and clinical processes.

Tenton described verifying “ground truth” through data-quality audits when integrating new acquisitions, rather than assuming existing processes will translate seamlessly to a larger platform,

Brian Holzer, CEO of Freedom Senior Services, described his approach to growth building a house: If you build the first floor correctly, you can add on to it later without the whole thing falling apart.

Building that strong foundation includes a strong focus on the clinical and compliance. Stacie Bratcher, CEO of LiveWell Partners, echoed that discipline is about clinical capacity as much as systems. She talked about building density in LiveWell’s markets so clinicians can be more effective and so the company can meet higher-acuity needs, rather than growing for growth’s sake.

Whether the topic was acquisitions, franchising or new technology, one of the clearest messages was that the industry’s next phase will reward organizations that can move fast while prioritizing discipline and why home-based care matters in the first place.