Beyond the Final Rule: How 2026 Changes Will Reshape Your Agency

By February, most agencies have already heard the Final Rule—what they haven’t done is fully operationalized it. Now that the dust has settled, this timely panel digs into the real-world implications agencies are facing as they begin adjusting to CMS’s 2026 updates. This session is not a repeat of our December Final Rule webinar. Instead, industry leaders Natalie Venable and Michael Tidd will unpack how these regulatory changes are reshaping daily workflows, affecting clinical and QA processes, influencing staffing and team communication, and impacting revenue integrity and survey readiness. If your agency is asking, “What do we actually need to change?”—this is the discussion you can’t afford to miss.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Identify the hidden operational challenges emerging as agencies adapt to 2026 requirements—and how to stay ahead of them
• Redesign documentation practices and communication workflows to maintain strong compliance and survey readiness
• Protect financial stability by minimizing revenue disruption under the updated PDGM and Value-Based Purchasing methodology
• Determine which leadership priorities must be addressed in Q1 to prevent performance setbacks later in the year
• Turn regulatory updates into opportunities to increase efficiency, clinical consistency, and overall agency performance

Your Speakers:

Natalie Venable is an experienced healthcare professional with a background in occupational therapy and over a decade of leadership in home health and hospice. Her work has spanned clinical care, quality improvement, and regulatory oversight, including serving as Director of Clinical Excellence for a large, national home health organization. In that role, she led quality teams and initiatives across 250+ branches, supported regulatory compliance, and advanced clinical performance at scale.

Natalie holds certifications as a Lean Healthcare Professional, COS-C, CHS-C and is a licensed Occupational Therapist. In addition, she is a CHAP Certified Consultant and Medbridge Instructor. She’s recognized for her depth of knowledge in home health and hospice standards, as well as her ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical, sustainable workflows for care delivery teams. Her collaborative approach is grounded in real-world challenges and designed to help providers sustain compliance while improving clinical outcomes.

Michael Tidd has over 20 years of experience in the Home Care Industry and is a frequent speaker at HealthCare Synergy Workshops and Webinars. He is a Software Developer, LVN, and Certified in ICD-9/10 Coding and OASIS (COS-C, HCS-D). As the Clinical Manager for HealthCare Synergy, he directs the Outsourced Management Services, assists in regulatory requirement of Synergy EMR, oversees the Clinical Documentation Auditing provided to clients, and participates on the clinical board for Synergy EMR. Michael continues to educate agencies on the ongoing regulations that CMS produces, the proper application of the Medicare Conditions of Participation, and completing timely, accurate, and defendable clinical documentation to survive in the current Medicare Reimbursement Model.