March 6, 2026
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Representative,
On March 5, 2026, H.R. 7837, the Most Favored Patient Act of 2026 was introduced by Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.). The legislation would require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a payment model that would mandate Most Favored Nation (MFN) price controls across the country. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you not to co-sponsor or vote for H.R. 7837.
Importing price controls from countries with socialized medicine by forcing CMMI to mandate MFN will lead to shortages, disrupt markets, slow medical innovation, threaten American jobs, fail to stop foreign freeriding on American research and development, and have a disastrous effect on patients. An August 2022 University of Chicago issue brief found that price controls would increase healthcare spending by $50.8 billion over the next 20 years and lead to 135 fewer drugs, which will negatively impact 2.47 million patients. Many of these arguments were cited in a February 12, 2026, coalition letter signed by 52 organizations, including CCAGW, that opposed the codification of MFN.
Using CMMI to mandate MFN in H.R. 7837 combines a bad policy with a wasteful and failed bureaucracy. CMMI was created in the Affordable Care Act with a $10 billion-per-decade mandatory budget. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that CMMI would save $2.8 billion from 2011-2020. Instead, it cost $5.4 billion during that period and is projected to cost another $1.3 billion between 2021 and 2030. A 2021 analysis of 174 CMMI models found that only four sufficiently reduced spending or improved care to be used nationwide. A February 23, 2026, coalition letter led by CCAGW signed by 42 organizations called for the elimination of CMMI.
H.R. 7837 should be opposed by every member of Congress. It should be anathema to Republicans who support free markets, oppose price controls, reject government-run healthcare, and do not want to adopt any policy that moves the United States toward socialism. And every Member of Congress who opposes wasteful spending should be calling for the elimination of CMMI, not giving it more power and control over patients and providers. All votes related to H.R. 7837 may be among those considered for CCAGW’s 2026 Congressional Ratings.
Sincerely,
Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW