Congressional aides are calling for Medicare Advantage spending controls amid pressure from insurance companies. Lobbying groups backed by insurance companies criticized the advisers' research and promoted their own research. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved an average increase in payments for Medicare Advantage plans of 5.06% for 2026, an increase of more than $25 billion. This increase exceeds the original proposal of 4.33% and includes an effective growth rate of 9.04%. Median premiums will fall from $16.40 in 2025 to $14.00 in 2026, a decrease of 14.6%. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage will drop from 34.9 million in 2025 to 34 million in 2026, the first decline in nearly two decades. Two-thirds of drug Part D plans will not charge a premium in addition to standard Part B in 2026.[1][2][3][5]