Summarizing public comments on federal rules
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Drug Pricing Updates for 2026
This page summarizes public comments on a proposed federal rule using using AI-assisted analysis and quote extraction. Below is a brief overview of the rule and timeline.
What this rule proposes: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing updates to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and other Part B payment policies for calendar year 2026. The rule includes payment rate adjustments, implementation of the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program under the Inflation Reduction Act, and changes to programs including the Medicare Shared Savings Program, Diabetes Prevention Program, and Quality Payment Program. It also addresses rural health center policies, ambulance fee schedules, and electronic interoperability. Public comments may focus on reimbursement fairness, drug pricing, provider incentives, and access to care.
Official title: Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Calendar Year 2026 Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; and Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program
Agency: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Comment Deadline: September 12, 2025
Published: July 16, 2025
Docket ID: CMS-2025-0304
Comment Themes
- efficiency adjustment concerns
- impact on GI services
- access to diagnostic tests
- practice expense methodology
Public Sentiment
🟢 19.7% Support
🔴 80.3% Oppose
Sentiment percentages reflect deduplicated comments, used here to account for a high volume of repeated or form-submitted comments.
Based on analysis of approximately 226 public comments.
Sentiment estimates are based on large language model classification (currently GPT-4o), which includes both direct statements and inferred positions. Deduplication helps surface original voices and recurring themes. Our methods are still evolving.
Last updated: 2025-08-02
Requesting an update helps prioritize this rule.Public Comment Summary
This summary reflects the most common points raised in public comments submitted on this rule.
Out of 226 public comments on the proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2026, approximately 94.0% opposed the rule, while 6.0% supported it. Opponents argue that cuts to reimbursement rates for skin substitutes and advanced wound care products could limit patient access, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and exacerbate workforce shortages in specialties like infectious diseases and gastroenterology. They suggest alternative approaches to preserve access and innovation. Supporters praise CMS for maintaining RVUs for remote patient monitoring and eliminating cost-sharing in advanced primary care models, which they believe will enhance chronic care management and preventive services. They also advocate for expanded access to continuous glucose monitors and AI-enabled care models, emphasizing the importance of equitable access and innovative healthcare solutions.
Comment Processing Summary
Out of 226 total comments, we applied multi-level deduplication to reduce repetition and highlight original, personally written submissions. This helps capture a more representative range of public input.
- 98 remained after removing exact duplicates
- 98 after filtering near-duplicates (name swaps, minor changes)
- 85 were considered clearly original (~37.6%)
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Representative Quotes
Showing 0 out of 64 sampled from original, non-duplicate comments.
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