Healthcare DIVE November 3, 2025
The CMS finalized the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2026 on Friday, one day before the statutory deadline.
Medicare has locked in a controversial pay cut for specialty doctors next year, normalizing reimbursement between specialists and primary care doctors and curbing the influence of a powerful physician association in setting rates.
The CMS finalized the 2026 Medicare physician fee schedule on Friday. The massive payment rule includes a so-called “efficiency adjustment,” which reduces payment for thousands of services including surgeries, outpatient interventions, pain management and more starting next year.
The -2.5% adjustment is meant to account for non-time based services becoming more efficient over time as technology improves and workflows become smoother. As a result, they’re easier to perform, so...
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