Section 504 websites for home health agencies, hospices and nursing homes
Home health agencies, hospices and nursing homes paid by Medicare or Medicaid are covered by the Section 504 website rule, and most have 15 or more employees, so their date is 11 May 2027. Start with the referral form, the service area pages and any admission documents families download.
Written by the nextwebsite.co team, and last checked on November 9, 2026.
Almost certainly covered
Home health agencies, hospices and nursing homes are among the providers most clearly covered by the HHS Section 504 rule. HHS names nursing homes and other providers paid under Medicare Part A, and providers in Medicaid, as recipients of federal financial assistance1. If your agency is Medicare-certified, plan as though the rule applies.
The deadlines
Websites and mobile apps must meet WCAG 2.1 AA from 11 May 2027 if the organisation has 15 or more employees, and from 10 May 2028 if it has fewer2. Count every employee, including aides and nurses in the field. Most agencies and homes will be in the 2027 group.
Who uses your website
Families often look for care at a hard moment, and many are older themselves or searching on behalf of a parent with poor eyesight or hearing. Referral sources, such as discharge planners, use the site to check your service area and send a referral. Each of them needs the referral form, the phone number and the service area to work with a keyboard, a screen reader and large text.
What to check first
- The referral or admissions form. Every field needs a label, errors need to be explained in words, and it must work without a mouse.
- Service area pages and maps. A map image alone isn't enough; list the counties or towns in text too.
- Downloadable documents that families use to apply or enrol, such as admission packets. Old PDFs are only exempt if nobody uses them to get care3.
- Careers pages, if staff apply online. Job applicants are protected too.
- Video, such as a virtual tour, needs captions4.
Privacy on the same pages
Referral and admissions forms collect health information. HHS has warned providers about tracking technologies on pages like these5, so review the scripts a page loads when you review its accessibility.
Next steps
Follow the Section 504 website checklist, starting with the referral form. Our free check shows the accessibility problems on your current site in about a minute.
This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Checklist
- Count every employee, including staff in the field, to find your date.
- Test the referral and admissions forms with a keyboard and a screen reader.
- List the service area in text, not only on a map.
- Make admission packets accessible, or turn them into web forms.
- Review the scripts on pages where families enter health details.
Check your own site
The free scan checks your pages for the accessibility problems a machine can find, and marks the checks that need a person. It takes under a minute.
Or run just this check: the accessibility checker.
Read next
- A Section 504 website checklist for practice managers
Seven steps to get a practice website, booking and forms ready for the Section 504 deadline, with a timeline back from 11 May 2027.
- What Section 504 covers on a practice website: booking, forms, portals
The rule covers what patients use, including vendor booking, intake forms and portals. What's in scope, the five exceptions, and what to ask vendors.
- Healthcare websites and the HHS Section 504 rule: the deadlines
Providers that take Medicare or Medicaid must make their websites meet WCAG 2.1 AA. The deadlines are May 2027 and May 2028.
More on section 504 for healthcare, and what we build for home health and hospice.