The Healthcare Compliance Step-By-Step Podcast · EPICompliance

#105 - 2026 Playbook: Noncompete, Prior Auth & Medicare Fee Schedule

·1 hr 4 min·1 clip
An RN approves clinical decisions of MDs. This isn't about reducing waste—it's about insurance companies not paying.
Healthcare compliance experts Ray Walters (EpiCompliance) and Jose Delgado Jr. (telehealth clinic owner) dissect three 2026 policies reshaping healthcare: non-compete enforcement, prior authorization expansion, and Medicare fee schedule restructuring. Critique: non-competes are being challenged even when reasonable (FTC vs. pet crematory); prior authorization adds bureaucratic burden under guise of waste reduction but is really insurance cost-shifting; Medicare fee schedule raises office visit rates but cuts procedure rates (especially for specialists in hospitals). Core argument: policies prioritize cost-cutting over care quality, forcing providers to choose between accepting unsustainable economics or dropping insurance. Evidence: 33 hospital systems dropping Medicare Advantage. Practical guidance: engage legal counsel early; understand regional billing variations; position smaller practices to capitalize on consolidation shifts.

As heard by us

Compliance gets practical when non-competes meet Medicare fee schedule math.

Ray Walters and Jose Delgado Jr. make healthcare compliance feel like operational math. They start with non-compete scrutiny, then move through Medicare fee schedule changes and the way CMS calculations can alter reimbursement for procedures and services done in facilities like…

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Why you'd press play

For the week when noncompetes, prior auth, and Medicare rates all hit at once.

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