In Force

Rule: Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs

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SummaryImpact AnalysisStatusLegal ChallengesTake Institutional ActionAssociated or Derivative PoliciesPolicy Prior to 2025Additional Resources
Department of Health and Human Services
Rule
Rule

Policy Type: Rule

A legally binding directive issued by a federal agency to implement, interpret, or enforce laws passed by Congress. Rules go through a formal rulemaking process, including public notice and comment, before taking effect.

Who It Impacts: Businesses, organizations, and individuals subject to federal agency oversight. For example, a new environmental regulation could impact manufacturing companies, or a healthcare rule could affect providers and insurers.

Who Is Not Impacted: People or entities not subject to the agency’s jurisdiction. For example, a rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulating industrial emissions would not directly impact a restaurant owner unless they operate in an affected industry.

Date Enacted
September 18, 2025
Last Updated
December 19, 2025
Policy Type
Healthcare Coverage
Healthcare Delivery, Services & Quality
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Summary

This rule focuses on requiring Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to submit accurate provider directory data to CMS for inclusion in the Medicare Plan Finder, updating changes within 30 days, and attesting annually to accuracy. Along with CMS’s regulatory impact estimates of cost and time savings for beneficiaries and documentation burdens for plans.

Impact Analysis

Depending on implementation, this directory of providers may be useful in ensuring continuity of care for beneficiaries and allow them to select plans that best meet their health needs. The tool is still a work-in-progress with some issues found in testing, although it is a step towards transparency.

Status

Legal Challenges

N/A

Take Institutional Action

  • Monitor implementation of the directory and tool to ensure it is meeting its aims of supporting Medicare beneficiaries with informed decisionmaking.
  • Provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with feedback on the tool.
  • Encourage beneficiaries to check with their providers instead of fully relying on the tool, given that it is still a work-in-progress.

Associated or Derivative Policies

N/A

Policy Prior to 2025

N/A

Additional Resources

Is Medicare’s New Provider Search Tool a Step in the Right Direction?

Discover More

In Force
February 3, 2026

Privacy Act; Systems of Records — Department of the Treasury, DO .0197—Financial Assistance Programs 2026-02234 (91 FR 5155)

Department of the Treasury
Notice
Notice

Policy Type: Notice

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Last Updated
February 3, 2026
Policy Type

The U.S. Department of the Treasury proposed creating a new database to collect information on individuals and organizations receiving financial assistance from Treasury-administered programs. Targeted programs include rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and small-business support. Parties related to program administration or oversight are all subject to data collection, and the collected records include application, demographic, financial, and identifying information, including sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and household financial information. Treasury may share this data with federal and non-federal entities for program eligibility verification, compliance and audit, fraud and abuse detection, and research or statistical analysis.

Data Governance
Government Transparency
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Temporarily Blocked
November 13, 2025

HUD FY 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)– Funding Opportunity No. FR-6901-N-25

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Executive Order
Executive Order

Policy Type: Executive Order

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A directive issued by the President that manages operations of the federal government. Executive orders have the force of law but must align with existing statutes and constitutional authority.

Who It Impacts: Federal agencies and employees, directing them on how to implement laws or carry out government functions. Executive orders can also influence businesses and individuals when they relate to issues like immigration, trade, or labor policies.

Who Is Not Impacted: Private citizens and businesses do not have to directly follow an executive order unless it leads to regulations or policies that apply to them. For example, an executive order directing federal agencies to increase renewable energy use does not mandate action from private companies, but it may influence policy shifts that eventually affect them.

Last Updated
November 13, 2025
Policy Type

In FY2025, HUD changed the rules for the Continuum of Care (CoC), a major federal homelessness program that funds local housing and support services. The new policy makes it harder to maintain funding for long-term housing, places more emphasis on short-term housing, and adds new application and scoring requirements. This shifts CoC away from its earlier focus on stable housing. States and nonprofits challenged the policy in court, and a judge temporarily blocked it. On March 31, HUD announced more than $349 million in renewal funding for first-quarter 2026 CoC projects under the 2026 appropriations law, while also moving forward with the FY2026 CoC registration process.

Housing
Social Safety Net
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