On July 2, the Trump administration released the 2026 unified agenda, listing several Medicaid rules planned for publication this year:
- In July, CMS expects to release “Strengthening the Integrity of Medicaid and CHIP Managed Care, Financing, and Access to Care,” which has been pending since May 12. The rule will update regulations to strengthen the integrity of the state enrollment process, state directed payments, and other payment and access requirements, the abstract says.
- CMS also plans to release in July the proposed rule to lower the hold harmless threshold for a state’s use of provider taxes.
- In January 2027, CMS will release the proposed rule outlining the new budget neutrality process for Section 1115 demonstrations, which the agency previewed in recent guidance.
Following the Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) request for information earlier in 2026, CMS also plans to release a proposed rule to address provider enrollment and program integrity concerns in October.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
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