Advocacy & Practice Updates — Advocacy & Practice
Physician Payment Update Enacted in Republican Agenda Bill
Late last week, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, a bill covering a wide range of domestic policies prioritized by the Republican Party. Included in the bill was a provision to increase Medicare physician payment by 2.5% in 2026. The bill makes no changes to current payment levels through the end of 2025 or from 2027 onwards.
A previous version of the bill passed by the House included a modest inflation-based update for future years, but this was stripped out and replaced by the 2026 payment bump when it moved to the Senate. While the lack of an inflationary update is disappointing, the bill’s final version means a higher payment increase for 2026. In addition, it allows more time for Congress to debate full physician payment reform, which has bipartisan support. As those efforts come together, ASRS and our colleagues across medicine will continue to push for a full inflation-based update and reforms to MIPS and the Quality Payment Program.
Beginning in 2027, the bill also includes major changes to Medicaid beneficiary eligibility and low-income subsidies for those buying health insurance on the exchanges. While these changes will result in the loss of coverage for some beneficiaries and individual states may modify their programs as a result, there are no specific changes to physician reimbursement for these programs included in the bill.
(Published 7.8.25)