An overwhelming majority of physicians have seen a spike in regulatory burden over the last three years, according to the Medical Group Management Association’s 2026 Regulatory Burden Report.
The report includes survey responses from executives across more than 230 group practices. Fifty-two percent of respondents are in practices with 20 or fewer physicians, and 26% are in practices with 100 or more physicians. Sixty percent of respondents are in independent practices.
Here are three other takeaways from the report:
1. The top 10 regulatory burdens MGMA members cited in the survey were:
- Audits and appeals
- Prior authorization in Medicare Advantage
- Medicare Advantage denials
- Automatic downcoding in Medicare Advantage
- EHR interoperability and information blocking
- Medicare Quality Payment Program Reporting
- Medicare & Medicaid credentialing
- Medicare Advantage contracting and network issues
- Surprise billing and good faith estimates
- HIPAA/cybersecurity
2. Ninety-five percent of MGMA members saw an increase in the regulatory burden in their practice over the past three years, with 5% stating they were unsure.
3. Forty percent of practices have three or more full-time administrative staff per physician to assist physicians with administrative and regulatory-related tasks.
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