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Last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) Rate Announcement, projecting a 5.06% average increase in payments to MA plans. That’s a notable jump from the 3.70% increase we saw in 2025. More than just a financial adjustment, this signals growing confidence in the Medicare Advantage model—and with it, growing expectations.
What does this mean simply? Insurance companies offering these plans will receive more government funding, which can be used to improve care for members, invest in better technology, and stay aligned with stricter requirements for quality and accuracy. In essence, more money equates to better patient care.
This is good news for everyone, but it comes with strings attached. For payers and providers, it’s a call to action to improve coding accuracy, strengthen risk adjustment performance, streamline operations through intelligent automation. How they do this is up to them. And it comes with all the challenges of evaluating and implementing new tools and processes.