The Alliance for Health Policy Releases New Insights Report on Health Care Payment Ahead of 2026 Signature Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 4, 2026

The Alliance for Health Policy Releases New Insights Report on Health Care Payment Ahead of 2026 Signature Series

– Report informed by in-depth interviews with experts across the health ecosystem will shape the Alliance’s 2026 Signature Series on health care payment

Washington, D.C. — The Alliance for Health Policy today released a new insights report examining the current health care payment policy landscape, informed by in-depth interviews with experts representing a wide range of perspectives, including economists, government leaders, health system leaders, health care providers, payers, policy analysts, and others. The report serves as the foundation of the Alliance’s 2026 Signature Series, which will focus on health care payment, one of the most complex, consequential, and least understood areas of U.S. health policy.

“Health care payment drives decisions that shape nearly every health care interaction,” said Claire Sheahan, M.Sc., President and CEO of the Alliance for Health Policy. “It’s also one of the most difficult topics to engage with, given the diverse range of programs, technical requirements, payers, and various state and federal actors involved. Through the Signature Series, we aim to identify emerging issues, multi-year themes, and foundational systems and issues to make learning about payment policy more accessible. This report reflects how the experts who work most closely with payment policy see today’s challenges, and where education could help policymakers navigate what comes next.”

To inform the report, which kicks off the Alliance’s annual Signature Series, a multi-event series of collaborative and educational events on a single topic, the Alliance conducted a series of in-depth interviews with experts from across the health policy community. Interviewees were selected to reflect bipartisan, multi-stakeholder perspectives and included leaders from government, nonprofit organizations, academia, and the private sector. Conversations explored which payment issues dominate current debates, what trends are shaping the system beneath the surface, and how foundational payment structures influence outcomes over time, often in unintended ways. The report was sponsored by the American Medical Association.

“While payment policy is undeniably complex, that complexity cannot be an excuse for inaction,” said John Whyte, M.D., MPH, CEO of the American Medical Association. “This report thoughtfully steps back from day-to-day policy debates to examine the underlying structures and incentives that shape physicians’ ability to deliver care. We are pleased to join the Alliance in fostering a deeper, more informed dialogue about how payment reform can better support high-quality, sustainable care.”

The insights report uses a systems thinking “iceberg” framework to distinguish between highly visible policy flashpoints (such as affordability, Medicare Advantage payment, prescription drug pricing, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies, and pharmacy benefit management) and the deeper trends and structures that shape payment policy regardless of near-term political cycles.

Beyond these themes, interviewees surfaced fundamental questions across payment debates: What does success in health care payment look like? How should policymakers balance incremental versus transformational change? How can payment policy better center patients, workers, employers, and taxpayers? And how might emerging tools, including artificial intelligence, reshape payment systems for better, or worse?

These insights will directly inform the design of the Alliance’s 2026 Signature Series on Health Care Payment, which will include a thought leader workshop, a public summit, and a congressional briefing.

The Signature Series reflects both aspects of the Alliance’s two-step “Incubate to Educate” program model. The “Incubate” phase focuses on expert listening, insight development, and curriculum development, while the “Educate” phase translates those findings into accessible, nonpartisan educational programming for congressional staff and the broader health policy community.

The Alliance now seeks partners to support and engage in the 2026 Signature Series and the development of timely, expert-informed education on health care payment. Connect with us about partnering or sponsoring future educational programming in this area.

View the insights report:

About the Alliance for Health Policy

The Alliance for Health Policy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping policymakers and the public better understand health policy, the root of the nation’s health care issues, and the trade-offs posed by various proposals for change. We believe a better health care system begins with a balanced exchange of evidence, experience, and multiple perspectives.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Carolyn Sobczyk
Communications Consultant
csobczyk@allhealthpolicy.org

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Kelly Appenzeller
Director of Production and Development
kappenzeller@allhealthpolicy.org