Can Congress stop the 2027 pay cut? with Anders Gilberg of MGMA

The final 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Nov. 4, cuts the conversion factor 2.31% for most physicians.

That is a deeper cut than CMS proposed in July, and it came the same week the midterm elections gave Democrats control of the next Congress.

Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs at the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), says the final rule scaled back a proposed cut to same-day office visits and procedures from 50% to 20%, but budget neutrality rules turned that improvement into a bigger conversion factor cut.

MGMA wants Congress to fix both immediately, and the Same Day Care Coalition says CMS still hasn't shown the data to justify a 20% reduction.

Physicians Practice Managing Editor Keith Reynolds sat down with Gilberg to talk through what happens next. Gilberg explains which specialties will feel the same-day cut most, what Congress could still do before government funding runs out Dec. 11 and why the Patients First Act made Democrats' 100-day priority list.

He also covers the end of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), what practices should check before the new rates take effect Jan. 1, the administration's focus on fraud and the prior authorization bill he says has no reason not to pass this fall.

For more on the final rule, see how physician groups reacted, listen to our special report on the cuts and hear Gilberg's take on the proposed same-day cut in September.

Music Credits:

Cozy Evening Coffee Time by BJBeats - stock.adobe.com

A Textbook Example by Skip Peck - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

0:00 – 0:40 | Cold open. Gilberg on why a 20% same-day cut is still significant for practices running on thin margins.

0:40 – 1:33 | Introduction. Keith Reynolds introduces the episode and the guest.

1:33 – 2:49 | The cut or the new Congress? Gilberg says most of MGMA's priorities are bipartisan, but the current Congress hasn't been productive and health care hasn't been a focus.

2:49 – 4:37 | Why the final cut is deeper. CMS scaled the same-day policy back from 50% to 20%, and budget neutrality rules made up the difference with a bigger conversion factor cut.

4:37 – 5:56 | A real win? Gilberg says 20% is still high, and the Same Day Care Coalition says CMS made the decision without real data.

5:56 – 6:55 | Who gets hit hardest. Orthopedics and dermatology top the list, and some patients may have to come back another day for a procedure.

6:55 – 9:15 | Can the lame duck act? With funding expiring Dec. 11, Gilberg lists what MGMA wants in a year-end package: another 2.5% payment increase, a restored floor on the geographic work index, an APM bonus and relief from lab cuts.

9:15 – 11:30 | The new Democratic Congress. Gilberg expects early action on Medicaid cuts and ACA subsidies and points to the Patients First Act on Democrats' 100-day list.

11:30 – 13:46 | Will new leadership speed things up? Gilberg says Democrats still have to settle their own approach to health care, and some Republicans have since backed reversing Medicaid cuts.

13:46 – 15:20 | The end of MIPS. Gilberg calls MIPS Value Pathways "MIPS on steroids" and says a phase-out set for 2030 or 2031 leaves time to revisit it.

15:20 – 16:12 | P2 Management Minute. Keith Reynolds invites listeners to submit their own practice management tips.

16:12 – 18:10 | Getting ready for Jan. 1. Gilberg says practices should check the specialty impact tables, run their most-billed codes through the new conversion factor and review big policies such as the delayed remote patient monitoring change.

18:10 – 20:35 | HHS oversight and the political climate. Gilberg expects oversight hearings instead of impeachment and warns that a fight with the administration could slow bipartisan bills.

20:35 – 22:11 | The fraud focus. Gilberg says fraud is real but politicized, and attacking it won't fix the health care system.

22:11 – 23:55 | What he's watching on the Hill. Physician payment and prior authorization reform, which Gilberg says has a supermajority of sponsors and costs nothing.

23:55 – 24:20 | Closing thoughts. Gilberg wishes listeners a good holiday season.

24:20 – End | Outro. Reynolds wraps the episode.