The 2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient and ASC Rule — What physicians need to know now

There are provisions that could affect doctors in the Calendar Year 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Proposed Rule.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this month published the draft rule affecting hospitals. A two-month public comment period runs now through mid-September.

This slideshow has details that physicians should know about, based on CMS’ fact sheet about the rule. The full 390-page document (CMS-1834-P) was published online in the Federal Register.

Here is an additional slideshow with more information about the draft 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.