ACP: Blocking of medical frailty a win for patient care

Statement attributable to:
Jan K. Carney, MD, MPH, MACP
President, American College of Physicians

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2026- The court ruling blocking the Medicaid medical frailty exemption is a win for patient access to care. The unnecessarily burdensome requirement to assess an individual patient's degree of medical frailty threatens access to care for vulnerable individuals with serious illnesses and diverts physician time away from providing necessary medical care. The American College of Physicians will continue to advocate for policies that make it easier for those who need Medicaid coverage to access it, rather than creating bureaucratic barriers for patients and physicians.

***

About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 172 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 163,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our new RSS feed.

ontact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, [email protected]