For years, quarterly planning cycles were the backbone of market access strategy. Teams gathered insights, updated forecasts, refined contracting approaches, and prepared for the next three-month stretch.
But as 2026 approaches, it’s clear that quarterly cycles can’t keep up with the market anymore.
Static launch plans won’t survive next year.
The teams winning in 2026 will be the ones building continuous, real-time insight loops.Â
Across payer discussions, advisory boards, and market behavior signals, one theme is consistent:
The pace of access change has permanently accelerated.
Why Quarterly Planning No Longer Works
1. Policy Shifts Are Happening Mid-Cycle
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) timelines, negotiation ripple effects, and CMS updates are influencing payer behavior in real time.
Waiting even 90 days to adjust strategy introduces risk—often at high-stakes moments.
2. Payer Thresholds Are Moving Faster
MAVA® panels show that payer expectations around evidence credibility, pricing logic, and contracting structures evolve rapidly—with meaningful shifts happening month to month.
Quarterly planning means you’re reacting to signals long after payers have already moved on.
3. Competitive Moves Don’t Follow Your Calendar
Competitor launches, policy interpretations, and new contracting pilots create ripple effects immediately.
By the time a quarterly review comes around, the access environment may look entirely different.
4. Evidence Cycles Are Shortening
With the rise of predictive analytics and linked EMR + claims data, evidence is becoming a real-time input, not a static deliverable.
Planning needs to adjust at the same speed evidence updates do.
The most forward-looking access teams aren’t planning faster—they’re planning continuously.
They’re operationalizing insight loops, not reviewing slides once per quarter.
1. Continuous Payer Insight via Digital Advisory
MAVA® users are engaging payers every week or month, not once a quarter.
They validate assumptions, test scenarios, and adjust messaging as payer sentiment shifts.
2. Real-Time Modeling & Scenario Simulation
Tools like Elasticity™ and Contracting ROI allow teams to test pricing or contracting changes the moment new information appears—closing the gap between signal and action.
3. Living Evidence Packages
Evidence evolves as quickly as real-world outcomes do.
Teams are shifting to living dossiers, updated dynamically as new EMR and claims data emerges.
4. Cross-Functional Activation Sessions
Instead of quarterly off-sites, leading teams run biweekly or monthly activation cycles, ensuring HEOR, Policy, Commercial, Medical, and Access move in sync.
The New Speed of Strategy
In 2026, market access success will belong to teams who:
- Update their strategy as IRC, CMS, and payer thresholds shift
- Know payer sentiment this month—not last quarter
- Use predictive modeling to understand what’s likely to happen next
- Can pivot contracting or value messaging within days
- Treat insight as fuel for decision-making, not as a static deliverable
This isn’t annual planning.
This isn’t even quarterly planning.
This is continuous access strategy.
The market is moving faster.
The question is whether your team is moving with it.
eMAX Health Systems helps manufacturers build continuous insight infrastructure through MAVA®, Elasticity™, Contracting ROI, and EMRClaims+®—turning real-time signals into real-time strategy.
To learn how to modernize your 2026 planning cadence, contact info@emaxhealth.net.