How to start a hospice in Utah

Utah requires a Health care facility license — hospice (hospice agency; hospice inpatient facility) from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Background Checks (Office of Licensing) to operate a hospice.

License required

Yes

License

Health care facility license — hospice (hospice agency; hospice inpatient facility)

Issuing agency

Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Background Checks (Office of Licensing)

Medicare certification

Medicare certification is separate from the state license (state survey or CMS-approved accreditor). CMS imposed a nationwide 6-month moratorium on new Medicare hospice enrollments (including new practice locations) effective 2026-05-13, extendable in 6-month increments; applications received by the Medicare contractor before that date are still processed, accreditation cannot be used for deemed-status entry during the moratorium, and a hospice undergoing a non-exempt ownership change within 36 months of enrollment must re-enroll as new and is therefore blocked. The federal notice leaves Medicaid/CHIP hospice moratoria to each state.

Regulation

Utah Code § 26B-2-201 (hospices are health care facilities); Utah Admin. Code R432-750 (hospice), R432-35 (background checks)

1. Apply to the DHHS Office of Licensing for a hospice health care facility license (rules in Utah Admin. Code R432-750)
2. Register owners, administrators, direct-care staff and volunteers with patient access in the Direct Access Clearance System for background checks (R432-35)
3. Pass the licensing survey

Training

• Background clearance through DACS / Office of Background Processing for covered individuals

Program

Utah Medicaid (Utah Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS)

Enrollment portal

PRISM Provider Portal

Application fee

Under the federal rule (42 CFR 455.460), institutional providers pay the CMS application fee when they first enroll, re-enroll or revalidate. The fee is $750 for calendar year 2026. Individual physicians and non-physician practitioners do not pay it. A fee already paid to Medicare or to another state's Medicaid program counts. Utah DHHS's enrollment pages do not list a separate state fee.

Fingerprinting

Under federal rules (42 CFR 455.434 and 455.450), the state places provider types in 'limited', 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels. High-risk providers, and anyone who owns 5% or more of one, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check. Utah DHHS's enrollment pages do not describe a separate state fingerprint process.

Site visit

Under federal rule (42 CFR 455.432), the state must visit moderate- and high-risk providers before and after enrollment. Every enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections. Utah DHHS's enrollment pages do not describe a separate state site visit process.

Revalidation

Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414) requires the state to revalidate every enrolled provider at least once every 5 years. Utah DHHS's become-a-provider page does not describe a separate state revalidation cycle.

Full Utah Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

Agency

Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Integrated Healthcare (Medicaid certification of nursing care facilities)

Moratoria

Medicaid reimbursement is limited to nursing care facility programs that were Medicaid-certified as of May 9, 2016, plus programs approved under Utah Code 26B-3-311(5) and (7). The division may not process new Medicaid certification applications or reinstate expired certifications except as §26B-3-311 allows. Since May 4, 2021, new ICF/IID beds may be Medicaid-certified only if the statewide ICF/IID Medicaid bed total does not rise (Utah Code 26B-3-310).

Utah certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$7.25 an hour

Effective

2009-07-24

Scheduled increases

No scheduled change found in the official sources reviewed.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Hospice agencies (community based) — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

233 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Medicare-certified hospices (CMS Care Compare)

82 (as of Aug 19, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

321,779 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Utah Hospice Medicaid rates, ranked →