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LUGPA Policy Alert - LUGPA Submits Comments on Proposed 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Rules

September 2025 

This month, LUGPA submitted formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rules. These annual rulemakings establish critical policies that directly impact physician reimbursement, regulatory requirements, and the delivery of care to Medicare patients.

As the unified voice for independent urology, LUGPA represents more than 150 independent group practices and over 2,100 physicians nationwide. Collectively, our members provide roughly one-third of all urologic care in the United States. This unique perspective ensures that policymakers understand how proposed rules affect not only physician practices but also the millions of patients who depend on timely, affordable, and accessible urologic care.

LUGPA’s comments emphasized four core priorities:

  • Protecting Independent Urology Practices – We opposed policies that accelerate hospital consolidation and threaten the viability of community-based practices, stressing the importance of maintaining a level playing field where independence can thrive.
  • Ensuring Fair Reimbursement – We called for payment rates that accurately reflect the resources required to provide high-quality urologic services and safeguard practice sustainability.
  • Promoting Efficient Care Delivery – We supported reforms that enable practices to deliver care more effectively, reduce waste, and expand access to advanced treatments in lower-cost, patient-preferred settings.
  • Reducing Administrative Burdens – We urged CMS to scale back unnecessary reporting requirements and duplicative regulations that take valuable time and resources away from direct patient care.

In addition to commenting on key proposals in both rules, LUGPA responded to CMS’s Requests for Information (RFIs) on deregulation. We highlighted outdated and overly burdensome rules that should be eliminated, offering practical changes that would streamline compliance, lower administrative costs, and allow physicians to focus more on patient care.

Our engagement with CMS underscores LUGPA’s ongoing commitment to advancing reforms that preserve independent medicine, protect patient access, and strengthen the long-term sustainability of your practices. We will continue to update members as CMS reviews stakeholder input and issues the final rules later this year.