CMS Finalizes Deeper 2.31% Physician Pay Cut for 2027

CMS released the final rule for the calendar year 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on Nov. 4, landing on a 2.31% pay cut that goes deeper than the agency proposed in July, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Most provisions take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

The agency made two notable reversals from its proposal. It scaled back a planned cut to same-day visit payments, and it delayed by two years its ban on remote patient monitoring services run by outside vendors. That delay gives health systems and digital health companies that depend on vendor-run monitoring more runway before the restriction bites.

For physician groups already operating on thin margins, a steeper conversion factor cut adds pressure heading into 2027. Medicare rates set the baseline that many commercial contracts reference, so the reduction ripples beyond federal beneficiaries. Providers and industry groups will likely press Congress for relief, a recurring fight each time CMS finalizes fee schedule cuts.