Phase I: Disparities in Access to Advanced Medical Procedures in the Medicare Population

Millions of patients’ lives are improved every day because of advancements in medical technology. But too often, gaps in coverage and access prevent patients from benefiting from the safe, effective, and innovative technologies that can help detect disease earlier, improve treatment, and support better outcomes. 

That is why AdvaMed’s 2026 Patients First Agenda focuses on supporting policies that put patients at the center of health care. Across the country, AdvaMed works alongside patient advocacy group partners to help address gaps in access and coverage for critical medical technologies and bring innovative care to patients and families when they need it most.

Early Alzheimer’s blood tests are improving diagnosis, but access depends on policy. Learn how expanded Medicare coverage is changing patient outcomes.

The United States faces a maternal health crisis demanding urgent action. The U.S. has the worst maternal outcomes among high income nations. Our maternal mortality rates far exceed peer countries’, despite the highest per capita health care spending. Protecting mothers and improving birth outcomes provides an important opportunity for bipartisan priority leadership.

“The Insight Series: AI & Digital Health” features industry experts answering key questions to help inform policymakers and the public about how AI is shaping the future of care delivery. Our latest edition features Carlos Nunez, Chief Medical Officer at Resmed.

WASHINGTON—AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, the largest trade association representing medtech innovators, has long pressed for faster Medicare consideration of covering treatments using FDA-authorized breakthrough medtech. President and CEO Scott Whitaker made the following comment on a new initiative from FDA Commissioner Makary and CMS Administrator Oz on greater collaboration between the agencies to close the long gap — a median of nearly six years — between FDA authorization of breakthrough medtech and Medicare coverage. The new Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device (RAPID) coverage pathway would “expedite access to certain FDA-designated Class II and Class III Breakthrough Devices for people with Medicare,” according to FDA.

BERKELEY, Calif., April 21, 2026 — Gravitas Medical, Inc., a developer of advanced enteral feeding technologies, today announced the initiation of a prospective, multicenter clinical study evaluating its next-generation (Gen 2) smart feeding tube system in neonatal and infant patients. The Gravitas Entarik™ Feeding Tube System is FDA-cleared and has received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The study is being conducted at three leading institutions, including HCA Memorial Health Savannah.

The tax incentives in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump last year are a prime example of the public policies reinforcing the U.S. position as the global leader in medtech innovation. 

“The Insight Series: AI & Digital Health” features industry experts answering key questions to help inform policymakers and the public about how AI is shaping the future of care delivery. Our latest edition features Julia Strandberg, Executive Vice President, Chief Business Leader, Connected Care at Philips.