Home health Medicaid rates in Vermont are set by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) and updated through GCR notices. The rate with a clear published unit in this comparison is speech therapy: Vermont Medicaid pays $68.00 per day on S9128, a rate in effect since 2013-01-01. It is a daily rate, so it is not placed in the national speech therapy ranking, which compares states at a median of $29.50 per 15 minutes.
The more important news for Vermont agencies is recent. GCR 26-075, the Home Health, High Technology Nursing and Pediatric Palliative Care SFY27 Rate Update, was finalized on 2026-08-28 with an effective date of 2026-07-01. Any Vermont home health budget for the current year should start from that update.
Vermont Medicaid home health reimbursement and the SFY27 update
Vermont publishes its home health rate changes through GCR notices, each first released as a proposal and then finalized. The recent ones that matter for home health agencies:
- GCR 26-075: Home Health, High Technology Nursing and Pediatric Palliative Care SFY27 Rate Update. Proposed on 2026-06-30 and finalized on 2026-08-28, effective 2026-07-01.
- GCR 26-048: Children's Integrated Services Early Intervention PT, OT, SLP Evaluations. Proposed on 2026-04-30 and finalized on 2026-07-08, effective 2026-05-01.
The SFY27 update was finalized after its effective date. That timing means claims for services delivered from 2026-07-01 may have been paid at earlier rates before the final notice, so agencies should check whether those claims need to be reprocessed at the updated rates.
GCR 26-048 applies to evaluations by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists within Children's Integrated Services Early Intervention. Agencies that provide pediatric therapy alongside home health will see it in that line of their billing.
The S9128 Vermont Medicaid rate for speech therapy
Vermont's speech therapy rate of $68.00 per day on code S9128 has been in place since 2013-01-01, and S9128 carries one prior authorization rule with no unit limit. A daily rate pays the same regardless of how much therapy is delivered that day, so its value depends on the length of the session.
National context helps frame it. Among the 16 ranked states, speech therapy runs from $137.61 per 15 minutes in Missouri to $4.77 in Ohio, with a median of $29.50. Michigan ($85.93), New Mexico ($49.66), Rhode Island ($44.27) and Delaware ($43.42) complete the top five. At the low end, Indiana pays $18.78 and New Hampshire, Vermont's neighbor, pays $18.40.
Vermont's other home health disciplines, including nursing, aide visits and physical and occupational therapy, do not have a rate in this comparison. Agencies should look to the Vermont Medicaid rates page for the full DVHA schedule, where each rate links to its source document.
Vermont home health wages
Vermont pays aides and licensed practical nurses above the national median, while therapists earn less. May 2025 figures:
| Role | Vermont median | US median |
|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse | $46.86 | $46.90 |
| Licensed practical nurse | $33.62 | $30.96 |
| Home health / personal care aide | $20.00 | $17.21 |
| Physical therapist | $47.10 | $49.40 |
| Occupational therapist | $44.87 | $48.24 |
| Speech-language pathologist | $39.47 | $47.05 |
The aide wage stands out. At $20.00 an hour, Vermont aides earn well above the $17.21 national median, which raises the cost of every aide visit. Registered nurses earn almost exactly the national median.
Speech-language pathologists are the reverse case. Their Vermont median of $39.47 is the furthest below the national median of any role here, which makes the speech therapy line relatively less expensive to staff. Against a $68.00 daily rate, a short session by a therapist at that wage covers the clinician's time, while a long one leaves little for travel and overhead.
Managed care and Global Commitment
Vermont's Choices for Care program provides Global Commitment long-term services and supports. Vermont counts 3 plans in its Medicaid data, and no managed-care rule is recorded for home health or therapy. For a home health agency, the published DVHA rates are the reference point for payment. The Vermont managed care page shows what is recorded for each service line.
Agencies that provide personal care or other in-home supports through Choices for Care alongside skilled home health are billing a separate set of rates there.
How Vermont compares with other states
With one daily rate in this comparison, Vermont cannot be placed in the national rankings. The states that lead home health give a sense of the range: Michigan pays $343.72 an hour for physical therapy, and Minnesota pays $80.62 per aide visit on T1021. The District of Columbia leads nursing at $155.16 per 15 minutes.
For Vermont agencies, the key questions this year are how GCR 26-075 changed each code and whether claims since 2026-07-01 reflect it. The national home health overview compares all states, and our methodology explains why daily and per-visit rates are reported in their own units rather than ranked.
Updated 2026-10-05