Advocacy

  • ASGE Endorses Bill to Pause Medicare Efficiency Adjustment

    February 19, 2026

    Legislation has been  introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to stop the 2.5 percent Medicare cut to work Relative Value Units (RVUs) for all non-time-based physician fee schedule services.

  • ASC Covered Procedures List Expansion

    February 19, 2026

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the Ambulatory Surgery Center Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) for CY2026 to include GI motility and functional testing procedures.

  • New Analysis Shows Majority of Care Denials Overturned

    February 19, 2026

    A new  analysis by KFF found Medicare Advantage insurers processed 52.8 million prior authorization requests in 2024. Of those requests, 4.1 million requests were either fully or partially denied.

  • Groups Ask CMS to Change Self-Administered Drug Exclusion Policy

    February 19, 2026

    ASGE has signed a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting a change in policy to ensure Part B coverage of physician-administered drug formulations when self-administration is not clinically appropriate or feasible.

  • Senate Committee Examines Contributors to Physician Burnout

    February 19, 2026

    The Senate Aging Committee held a hearing on February 11 on the subject of how administrative and regulatory red tape fuels physician burnout and impacts patient access to care.

  • NIH Director Questioned at Senate Hearing

    February 19, 2026

    Senate lawmakers had an opportunity to question National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, during a  hearing convened by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on February 3.

  • Aetna Coverage - ESG

    February 6, 2026

    ASGE, ACG, and AGA jointly urged Aetna to update its coverage policy so that endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG). Our goal is for Aetna to explicitly recognize ESG as a covered bariatric/endobariatric option.

  • CY2026 Tri-Society Coding Update

    February 5, 2026

    ASGE, ACG, and AGA released their jointly developed 2026 CPT Coding Updates for Gastroenterology. This tri‑society resource provides consolidated guidance on new, revised, and deleted codes affecting GI and endoscopic services in the 2026 calendar year.

  • CMS Announces Small Rate Bump for Medicare Advantage Plans

    February 5, 2026

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing an increase of 0.09 percent, or over $700 million, in Medicare Advantage (MA) payments to plans in CY 2027. By comparison, the rate increase was 5.06 percent for 2026.

  • CRC Community Presses HHS for Bowel Prep Guidance

    February 5, 2026

    ASGE and colorectal cancer groups asked CMS to clarify bowel prep coverage so all FDA-approved options meeting efficacy standards are covered without cost sharing for screening colonoscopies and follow-up exams after abnormal noninvasive tests.

  • ASGE Asks Doc Caucuses to Scrap MIPS

    January 22, 2026

    In a letter to GOP and Democratic Doctors Caucus leaders, ASGE urged repeal of Medicare’s MIPS and recommended replacing it with RVU-based incentives that reward quality and patient outcomes using measures prioritized by specialty societies.

  • Telehealth Expansion and Other Health Measures Included in Spending Bill

    January 22, 2026

    Congressional lawmakers have inked a deal to renew several major public health programs and fund bipartisan health reforms and have tacked them into a fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending measure.

  • Trump Asked to Recognize March as CRC Awareness Month

    January 22, 2026

    ASGE and more than 30 other members of the colorectal cancer (CRC) community sent a letter this month to President Trump asking that he issue a proclamation designating March 2026 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

  • Spending Bill Would Boost NIH Funding

    January 22, 2026

    Earlier this week, House and Senate appropriators released a bipartisan, bicameral fiscal year (FY) 2026 spending bill which includes funding for the Department of Health and Human Services.

  • GOP Doc Caucus Meets with SBA Administrator

    January 22, 2026

    On January 8, the GOP Doctors Caucus met with Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler to discuss the importance of small, independent practices in health care.