An enforcement area for the United States Government is adding diagnoses that allegedly fraudulently increase Medicare Advantage (“MA”) plan payments.

The 2026 update to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)® has 288 new codes, 46 revised codes, and 84 deleted codes. In addition, the ICD-10-CM update has 553 revisions, additions, and deletions.

Chest tube insertion done by two physicians in the ER – spontaneous pneumothorax secondary to barometric trauma.

Description: Patient is a three years old male who about 45 minutes prior admission to the emergency room ingested about two to three tablets of Celesta 40 mg per tablets.

The government is targeting companies and employees for adding diagnoses that allegedly fraudulently increase Medicare Advantage (MA) plan payments (“Medicare Advantage Provider Independent Health to Pay Up to $98 Million to Settle False Claims Act Suit,” 2024).

The 2026 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contains very few changes from the Proposed Rule released in July.

Healthcare organizations face 420 CPT code changes in 2025 and 418 in 2026, spanning telemedicine expansion, AI-augmented services, and surgical technique updates that directly impact billing accuracy and reimbursement.

The future of medical coding—often under the broader umbrella of health information management—is bright. For those entering the profession, mid-career coders, and educators alike, the year 2026 and the years beyond offer strong opportunities. Below is a breakdown of why the demand remains solid, how the role is evolving (especially with AI), and what aspiring coders must do to succeed.

The MPFS Final Rule was mostly unchanged from what was proposed a few months earlier. The conversion factors for 2026 Medicare reimbursement were proposed to be an increase of 3.3% to 3.8%, and the final figures came within that range but slightly lower by fractions.

77067 – Screening mammography, bilateral (2-view study of each breast), including CAD