Advocacy

  • CMS Launches New Value-Based Payment Model

    January 8, 2026

    CMS launched the MAHA ELEVATE Model, a new Medicare value-based payment model supporting evidence-based whole-person care, including lifestyle and functional medicine. Up to 30 awards will fund data collection on these interventions starting in 2026.

  • Administration Announces Rural Health Awards

    January 8, 2026

    All 50 states will receive a share of $50B in rural health funding over five years under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Funds are split evenly and by rural need, and CMS created a new Office of Rural Health Transformation to oversee the program.

  • Applications Open for New Chronic Care Payment Model

    January 8, 2026

    CMS is seeking applicants for the voluntary ACCESS Model, testing technology-supported care for chronic conditions. The model emphasizes outcome-based improvement and provides recurring payments tied to measurable health results.

  • CMS Launches Model to Expand Access to GLP-1 Medications

    January 8, 2026

    CMS announced the voluntary BALANCE Model to expand coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight management, pairing medications with free lifestyle support. Coverage depends on participation, with Medicaid launching in 2026 and Medicare Part D in 2027.

  • CDC Adopts ACIP Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations

    January 8, 2026

    CDC will delay the first hepatitis B vaccine to 2 months for infants born to HBV-negative mothers, while keeping the birth dose for infants of positive or unknown status. The change follows ACIP guidance, and parents may still choose earlier vaccination.

  • ASGE Members Should Prepare for Telehealth Flexibility Expiration on January 31, 2026

    January 8, 2026

    ASGE members should be aware of an upcoming deadline affecting Medicare telehealth services. Current telehealth flexibilities are scheduled to expire on January 31, 2026, unless Congress acts to extend them.

  • ASGE Leads Tri-Society Letter to CMS on Practice Expense Cuts

    January 8, 2026

    ASGE, AGA, and ACG sent a joint letter to CMS urging a delay of proposed Practice Expense changes until specialty-specific analysis is completed, warning of unintended impacts on endoscopy services.

  • Medical Research Funding at Risk Without Defense Bill

    December 11, 2025

    Patient and provider groups are urging passage of the FY 2026 Defense Spending bill to ensure full funding for the CDMRPs, which includes the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Programs, an important source of funding for GI-related cancer research.

  • Medical Societies Renew Push for Prior Authorization Legislation

    December 11, 2025

    ACIP voted to end universal birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination, recommending the first dose at two months for infants of hepatitis B–negative mothers. Only infants of positive or unknown-status mothers get the birth dose. ASGE joined AASLD opposing this.

  • ASGE Urges HCSC to Include Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) in Bariatric Surgery Policy

    December 3, 2025

    ASGE urges HCSC to update its Bariatric Surgery Policy to cover Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG), now a Category I CPT® procedure effective Jan 1, 2026. ESG is FDA-authorized, guideline-endorsed, and proven safe, durable, and cost-effective.

  • ASGE Delegates Help Shape Policy at AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting

    November 25, 2025

    ASGE physician leaders—Gary Richter, MD and Robin Mendelsohn, MD—represented gastroenterology at the AMA House of Delegates (HOD) Interim Meeting.

  • Physician Organizations Urge Elevance Health to Rescind Controversial Policy

    November 25, 2025

    A broad coalition of physician organizations, including ASGE, is urging Elevance Health to withdraw its new “Facility Administrative Policy: Use of a Nonparticipating Care Provider,” set to take effect in 11 states on January 1, 2026.

  • FDA Issues Draft Guidance for Demonstrating Biosimilarity

    November 14, 2025

    New draft industry guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests the agency will change its approach to biosimilar review and no longer require comparative efficacy studies as part of an application for review.

  • White House Reaches Deal to Cut GLP-1 Prices

    November 14, 2025

    On November 6, President Trump announced that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will offer their GLP-1 weight-loss drugs at a significant discount. As part of the deal, consumers will be able to buy the companies’ products at a significant discount on TrumpRx.

  • Telehealth Flexibilities Extended with Shutdown Deal

    November 14, 2025

    The deal to end the federal government shutdown passed by Congress and signed into law includes a number of health care extender provisions, including extension of the COVID-era telehealth flexibilities under Medicare.