The Biden administration’s last MA rule is a boon for insurers, though it remains to be seen how the incoming Trump administration might put its stamp on the regulation before it’s finalized this spring.

Medicare Advantage (MA) benchmark payments are poised to increase by 2.23%, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed in a Friday afternoon advance notice. | CMS is recommending a 2.

Health insurance companies selling private Medicare Advantage plans in the US would see a greater increase in payments in 2026 than in the current year if a proposal released Friday is adopted by the incoming Trump administration.

The U.S. government on Friday proposed 2026 reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers that will result in a 2.2% increase in payments, compared with a decline of 0.2% last year.

The Biden administration’s final regulation affecting the Medicare Advantage industry would come with a much lighter touch than the past two years.

Shares of health insurers advanced Friday after the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it has proposed raising government payments to Medicare Advantage plans by an average of $4.