Blogs
How ACA Updates Continue to Shape Payer Operations in 2026
Marketplace affordability pressures influence enrollment and risk profiles. Compliance expectations shape data governance and clinical workflows. Product design decisions determine how effectively plans manage cost and utilization. Nowhere are these dynamics more complex than in Medicaid, where state-level variation demands tailored execution. Together, these forces define the payer operating environment in 2026.
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Tip Sheets
Market Entry for Health Plans
Launching a new product or entering a new market introduces complexity across operations, clinical programs, and compliance. From understanding readiness gaps to building care and business frameworks that meet regulatory expectations, health plans must align strategy with execution to avoid costly missteps.
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Blogs
Assessing Uncertainty: The Impact of Policy on Medicaid & D-SNPs
Changes in federal and state leadership, regulatory priorities, and budgetary negotiations are reshaping the ground beneath payers’ feet. At the same time, health plans are navigating a market defined by margin pressure, demographic shifts, and integration mandates. Even modest regulatory adjustments like eligibility verifications, matching-rate recalculations, and D-SNP alignment rules can significantly alter enrollment dynamics and financial projections. Evaluate how today’s evolving political environment is redefining Medicaid and D-SNP markets and how health plans and MCOs can stay resilient amid uncertainty.
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Blogs
2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule: Key Impacts for HMO Contracting
The 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) arrives at a complicated moment for health plans. Leaders are still managing the financial drag from the 2025 conversion factor cut, network pressures tied to staffing shortages, and quickly shifting behavioral health and digital care models. The new MPFS rule introduces changes that may look incremental on paper, but together they impact how health plans will need to approach pricing, contracting, and operational planning for the next several years.
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Blogs
Compliance & Accreditation Amid Policy Shifts: CMS Updates & Operational Readiness
As CMS finalizes sweeping updates to utilization management, supplemental benefits, and member communication requirements, compliance and accreditation leaders find themselves at the intersection of policy interpretation and operational accountability. These changes arrive alongside a shifting accreditation landscape in which NCQA, URAC, and other entities are tightening expectations around transparency, documentation, and cross-departmental governance. The challenge is translating the rules into procedures that hold up under audit, maintain accreditation standards, and deliver clear, consistent experiences for members and providers. This period of regulatory recalibration demands a proactive approach that ties compliance planning directly to enterprise readiness and performance outcomes.
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eBooks
How to Prepare for CMS-0057-F
The Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F) introduces new technology standards and faster decision timelines designed to improve efficiency, transparency, and patient access. Review the compliance timeline and learn how to prepare for CMS-0057-F so your team can effectively modernize processes, better engage providers, and elevate member experiences.
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