Medicaid programs in 37 states have agreed to judge the care their enrollees receive by whether patients actually get healthier, rather than by whether providers completed routine process steps. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the voluntary partnership, called Investing in Health Outcomes, on September 25, 2026, according to a CMS press release.
As of September 24, the participating states covered about 56 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees and about $701 billion in fiscal year 2024 Medicaid spending, according to the agency's Investing in Health Outcomes program page. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, "For too long, Medicaid has measured whether boxes are checked instead of whether patients are getting healthier," and added that this "must change."
