Medicare’s final 2027 fee schedule cuts deeper; Democrats win Congress; measles deaths test U.S. elimination status — Morning Medical Update Weekly Recap

Medicare’s final 2027 fee schedule cuts physician pay deeper than proposed

Most physicians face a 2.31% conversion factor cut, though CMS softened its planned same-day visit penalty.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on Nov. 4, and it cuts the conversion factor 2.31%, from $33.40 to $32.63, for most physicians. Physicians who qualify through advanced alternative payment models face a 1.83% cut.

Most of the cut comes from the expiration of the one-year 2.5% payment increase Congress included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for 2026. The final cut is deeper than the 1.68% CMS proposed in July largely because of a technical adjustment tied to work relative value units.

Same-day visit penalty softened

CMS had proposed a 50% payment reduction for visits billed on the same day as some procedures. The final rule lowers that reduction to 20% and limits it to procedures with 0-day global periods.

The rule also includes new payments aimed at primary care, including for coaching, group visits and behavioral health. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., framed the changes as a move away from a payment system that “rewarded volume over value.”

What physicians are saying

Physician organizations urged Congress to counter the cuts before they take effect Jan. 1, while reaction to the rule’s other provisions was split.

Democrats win Congress, putting Medicaid cuts and ACA subsidies on the agenda

A record number of physicians could serve in the 120th Congress, though President Donald Trump still holds the veto pen.

Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. As of Friday morning, Democrats held at least 54 Senate seats after flipping seven, with two races still uncalled.

Democrats campaigned on restoring enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Republicans ran on as a signature achievement. Much of that agenda affects physicians directly, but any bill would still need Trump’s signature, as KFF Health News noted. Meanwhile, Medicaid work requirements under the law are scheduled to begin in January.

Physicians headed to Congress

At least 18 physicians secured seats in the 120th Congress, and three more were leading in races not yet called, which could bring the total to a record 21.

Pediatrician Annie Andrews, M.D., a Democrat, won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, and Republican neurosurgeon John Cowan, M.D., won Georgia’s 11th Congressional District. Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), an OB-GYN, lost his reelection bid.

Measles deaths mount as an international panel prepares to review U.S. elimination status

Three states reported deaths this week, and a regional commission meets Nov. 10-13.

Three states reported measles deaths this week. New York reported a death Nov. 2, Pennsylvania confirmed its sixth measles-associated death of the year Nov. 4 and Wisconsin reported Nov. 5 that an infant had died, the state’s first measles death since 1990.

States have reported eight measles deaths this year, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed four, a gap that reflects differences in how state and federal agencies classify deaths involving measles. The CDC counted 4,852 cases as of Oct. 29, more than double the 2,289 cases reported in all of 2025.

Elimination status on the line

The Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission meets Nov. 10-13 to review countries’ elimination status, using data from 2025 and the first half of 2026. The United States has held measles elimination status since 2000.

The commission will classify countries by elimination status at the end of the meeting and later publish a final report, so its findings may not be public right away, according to PAHO.