The final passage and presidential signing of House Resolution 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) received a lot of attention and has drawn a wide range of opinions. The 870-page bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation with a wide range of provisions.
With more than 100,000 Wyomingites covered by Medicare, it’s important that WMS members know how the bill will impact Medicare reimbursement. Unfortunately, the provisions in the House version to block the scheduled 2.83% reduction in the Medicare Fee Schedule that took effect January 1 of this year were stripped out in the Senate version. Additionally, the House effort to incorporate a 2% across-the-board-bump for physician payments was removed from the bill during Senate debate.
Physicians can expect to see a temporary one-year 2.5% increase to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in calendar year 2026. While this temporary bump is appreciated, unfortunately any mechanism to tie future updates to inflation, which had been part of earlier House language, were also stripped out in the bill’s final version. Various attempts were made to guarantee annual updates from FY 2026 through FY 2033 – such as linkages to Medicare Economic Index- but all were ultimately removed by the Senate and not restored prior to the signing of the bill.
Bottom Line for Wyoming Physicians:
- Doctors will not receive any retroactive stabilization for the 2025 physician payment rates.
- Reimbursements have already been reduced per CMS rule.
- Doctors can expect a one-time 2.5% increase in 2026.
- There is no expectation of long-term payment stability, and statutory sequester rules could reduce Medicare spending in future years.