MedPAC Releases June 2026 Report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June 2026 Report to Congress (PDF), evaluating improvements to Medicare payment systems and issues affecting the Medicare program across six chapters. The first five chapters of the report cover improving payment incentives in Medicare across fee-for-service, alternative payment models, and Medicare Advantage, the complexity of Medicare enrollment decisions for beneficiaries, Medicare payment operations and their role in identifying improper payments, association between Medicare Advantage enrollment and hospitals’ and post-acute care providers’ finances, and access to hospice and certain complex palliative services for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease or cancer. These chapters focus on ideas for improvement to the Medicare program as well as changes to health care delivery and the market for health care services. While the report does not include recommendations, the commission may continue to build on this work and issue future recommendations informed by these findings. 

The final chapter includes a mandated report covering the assessment of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System. This chapter recommends Congress direct the secretary of Health and Human Services to continue collecting cost and revenue data from suppliers and providers of ground ambulance services focusing on information essential to assessing both the accuracy of Medicare payments and Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care to streamline data collection.