From a same-day payment cut to AI-run prior authorization in traditional Medicare, MGMA's government affairs team laid out what Washington has in store for physicians next year.
News|Slideshows|August 5, 2026
The 10 worst states for health care in 2026
Author(s)Austin Littrell
Fact checked by: Keith A. Reynolds, AC Baltz
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WalletHub ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 44 measures of cost, access and outcomes.
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The 10 states at the bottom of WalletHub's 2026 health care ranking share a problem that shows up on a practice’s schedule long before it appears in a report. Coverage is thinner. The workforce is thinner. And the outcomes measures that increasingly drive
WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 44 measures of cost, access and outcomes for
Eight of the bottom 10 are in the South, and the two that are not landed there for very different reasons.
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At an MGMA Government Affairs town hall, attendees raised extrapolated audits, employer plans beyond state reach and denials with no reason codes.
EBRI data show employer plans pay hospital outpatient departments about twice what physician offices receive for the same physician-administered drugs, and the commercial market has barely begun to address the gap.
MGMA members described capping Medicare Advantage contracts and favoring commercial patients, while one Texas practice leader reluctantly called Medicare her best payer.
Behavioral health has historically taken a back seat to physical health in primary care. That approach is shifting, as growing evidence underscores the importance of whole-person well-being in improving patient outcomes, strengthening care coordination and advancing value-based care.
No U.S. state scores even 2 out of 5 on patient sentiment about billing
A fallback version would make insurers prove upcoding, notify physicians and limit downcoding to 90 days.
Acting chief executive Akash Madiah credited practice leaders for outcomes patients never see, and the session's emcee offered a patient's account of two years of doctor visits.
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