Alert: Congress Passes One Big Beautiful Bill
On July 3, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the Senate-amended version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, by a vote of 218 to 214. The bill includes provisions that are mixed for GI; some will have harmful long-term impacts for GI providers and patients.
Slight increase in Medicare payments for 2026
Thanks to your advocacy and the collective efforts of GI and other medical societies, the Senate inserted language providing a 2.5% positive adjustment to the Medicare physician fee schedule in 2026.
The positive adjustment is welcome news following years of stagnant or negative payment updates. However, we expect CMS to soon announce its separate proposed Medicare physician fee schedule update for 2026, which could impact the bill’s statutory 2.5% adjustment.
This is also not a long-term or permanent solution. We will continue to push Congress to move forward with an overhaul of the Medicare physician payment system with increased urgency.
Steep cuts to Medicaid
The Senate-amended bill makes steep cuts to Medicaid spending, including by further restricting the provider tax in states that have expanded Medicaid.
Our GI societies have advocated against program changes that will lead to a loss of health care coverage and access for children and adults, especially since the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will result in 11.8 million more uninsured
people by 2034.
We are disappointed that members of Congress failed to listen to their constituents and pushed legislation through that will result in increased obstacles or a complete loss of
access to care for millions of Americans.
Our societies appreciate all those who responded to our calls to action by contacting their members of Congress.
See a table summarizing key provisions in H.R. 1 here.
