Yes. MGMA's October 20, 2026 Stat poll of 214 medical group leaders found that 63.0% say their revenue cycle operations are shifting toward more automation this year. Another 26.0% report no major change, and 11.0% say work is shifting toward more manual effort.
How many groups are moving toward more automation in 2026?
MGMA asked leaders which way their revenue cycle operations are leaning in 2026. The poll drew 214 applicable responses, and the full split was 63.0% toward automation, 26.0% unchanged, and 11.0% toward manual work. MGMA's headline for the results ties the shift to payer-driven demands on practices.
The gap between the two directions is 52.0 percentage points. For every group moving toward more manual work, about 5.7 are moving toward more automation. Groups that report no change make up just over one quarter of the answers.
The poll does not say which tasks the 63.0% automate. It also does not report group size or specialty for the answers. A practice administrator who wants to compare against these numbers needs to decide which of their own tasks count as automated, such as eligibility checks, claim scrubbing, payment posting, or denial work queues.
How much of the revenue cycle did groups automate before?
MGMA ran an earlier version of the question on February 27, 2024, with 226 applicable responses. It asked what share of revenue cycle operations the group had automated. In that poll, 36.0% had automated less than 20.0%, 25.0% had automated 21.0% to 40.0%, and 20.0% had automated 41.0% to 60.0%. MGMA summarized the result as 62.0% of groups having automated 40.0% or less.
Adding the two middle bands gives 45.0% of groups at 21.0% to 60.0% automated. The remaining answers were mostly groups above 60.0%, plus 1.0% who chose "other."
MGMA also asked about intent. In a February 20, 2024 poll, 20.0% of leaders named revenue cycle as an area they would outsource or automate in 2024. MGMA later reported that 36.0% of practice leaders said, by late 2024, that they would outsource or automate parts of the revenue cycle in 2025. These polls used different questions, so they show direction and not a measured trend.
How common is AI for coding and charge review?
MGMA's April 7, 2026 Stat poll of 256 applicable responses asked about AI in two revenue cycle tasks. Of the respondents, 9.0% use AI for coding only, 4.0% for charge review only, and 20.0% for both. That makes 33.0% using AI for at least one of the two tasks.
The same poll found 68.0% using AI for neither task. MGMA's published figures add to 101.0%, which points to rounding.
Among the 33.0% that use AI for either task, 20.0 percentage points use it for both. That is 60.6% of the users. The poll gives one snapshot and does not follow the same groups over time.
Where do the budget dollars go?
Two other MGMA Stat polls show how automation competes for money. On October 28, 2025, MGMA asked 213 groups where their biggest new 2026 investment would go. Workforce took 37.0%, health IT 30.0%, revenue cycle 12.0%, patient access 12.0%, and other categories 9.0%.
The question allowed one answer, so the 12.0% for revenue cycle does not measure total spending on billing work. Automation tools may also sit in the health IT line.
On January 27, 2026, MGMA asked 226 leaders for their biggest planned cost-cutting move. Automation led at 36.0%, followed by process fixes at 23.0%, hiring freezes or cuts at 18.0%, outsourcing at 14.0%, and new vendors at 9.0%. Automation and process fixes together reached 59.0%.
What do the five polls show side by side?
| MGMA Stat poll date | Question | Applicable responses | Leading answer | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27, 2024 | Share of revenue cycle automated | 226 | 62.0% automated 40.0% or less | MGMA Stat |
| October 28, 2025 | Biggest new 2026 investment | 213 | Workforce 37.0%; revenue cycle 12.0% | MGMA Stat |
| January 27, 2026 | Biggest cost-cutting move | 226 | Automation 36.0% | MGMA Stat |
| April 7, 2026 | AI in coding or charge review | 256 | 33.0% use it; 68.0% do not | MGMA Stat |
| October 20, 2026 | Direction of revenue cycle operations | 214 | 63.0% toward more automation | MGMA Stat |
Each poll counts between 213 and 256 applicable responses, so a single percentage point equals roughly two to three respondents.
How can a practice place itself against these numbers?
The February 2024 bands give a simple scale: under 20.0%, 21.0% to 40.0%, 41.0% to 60.0%, and above 60.0% of operations automated. In that poll, 36.0% of groups sat in the lowest band and 25.0% in the next. A practice can list its revenue cycle steps, mark each one as automated or handled by hand, and divide.
The three 2026 polls cover different questions but sit in the same range. Automation was the top planned cost move for 36.0% of 226 leaders in January. AI in coding or charge review reached 33.0% of 256 respondents in April. A shift toward automation reached 63.0% of 214 leaders in October. A practice that wants a single benchmark can use the last figure for direction and the April figure for AI in coding and charge review.
The 2026 numbers add a second reference point. A practice that reports no change in 2026 sits with the 26.0% in the middle. A practice moving toward more manual work sits with the 11.0% minority.
Sources
- MGMA Stat, Most medical groups adding RCM automation amid a wave of payer-driven demands, October 20, 2026
- MGMA Stat, Steps toward revenue cycle automation vary across medical groups, February 27, 2024
- MGMA Stat, Before you buy: evaluating AI for coding and charge review in your practice, April 8, 2026
- MGMA Stat, Where medical groups are putting new dollars in 2026, October 28, 2025
- MGMA Stat, Top cost-cutting moves for medical practices in 2026, January 28, 2026
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