Source: Niskanen Center
by Lawson Mansell
“Each year, few developments in healthcare policy are more consequential than the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) payment updates. These rules determine how much doctors and hospitals are paid by Medicare—decisions that ripple across the entire healthcare system, shaping the supply of medical care and influencing the rates private insurers pay. This summer, CMS released the new administration’s first proposal for adjusting Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals. The proposed 2026 rule begins to rebalance reimbursements by shifting spending away from hospital-owned settings for care and toward primary care and other freestanding outpatient clinics.” (09/11/25)