CMS issues 2027 Physician Fee Schedule

On July 14, CMS released the CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule, which updates Medicare payment rates and policies for physicians and other professional services paid under Part B beginning on Jan. 1, 2027.

Representing one of the most significant overhauls of Medicare physician payment in recent years, CMS proposes to fundamentally revise the practice expense methodology used to establish physician payment rates, advance the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities through new payment policies focused on prevention and chronic disease management, and seek broad stakeholder input on redesigning primary care payment. Of note, CMS proposes creating new HCPCS G-codes to preserve the current maternity care coding and payment framework while broader implementation issues with the AMA’s major restructuring of maternity care CPT codes are evaluated, expressing concern that the transition could be disruptive.

Relatedly, CMS seeks comments on the influence of the CPT coding system and the AMA processes on physician payment policy, highlighting MedPAC concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Government Affairs will work with impacted business areas to review the proposals and develop comments by the Sept. 14 deadline.