AHA Statement on CY 2026 OPPS Final Rule

Ashley Thompson
Senior Vice President, Public Policy Analysis and Development
American Hospital Association

November 21, 2025

The AHA is disappointed that CMS has finalized cuts to hospital and health system services, including those in rural and underserved communities. Combined with its continued inadequate market basket updates, the agency is exacerbating the challenging financial pressures under which hospitals are operating to serve their patients and communities. 

Specifically, we oppose expanding “site-neutral” cuts and eliminating the inpatient-only list. Both policies ignore the important differences between hospital outpatient departments and other sites of care. The reality is that hospital outpatient departments serve Medicare patients who are sicker, more clinically complex, and more often disabled or residing in rural or low-income areas than the patients seen in independent physician offices.

We are grateful that the agency accepted our position that an accelerated 340B remedy recoupment would harm hospitals that relied on the previous timeline. However, we are concerned that it intends to move forward with an accelerated timeline next year. An accelerated timeline, either now or in the future, is both bad policy and unlawful.

Finally, we remain concerned with the burdensome drug acquisition cost survey finalized by the agency, especially if the agency uses the results of the survey next year to drastically reduce Medicare payments to the hospitals that serve our nation’s most vulnerable communities. 

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