AAOS submits comment letter to CMS on Physician Fee Schedule

At a Glance

• AAOS urges CMS to maintain current work RVU values for primary hip, knee, and shoulder arthroplasty procedures.
• AAOS opposes proposed cuts to physician payments and evaluation and management services that could affect independent practice viability.
• More than 5,000 messages from AAOS members have been sent to Congress and CMS in support of preserving patient access to orthopaedic care.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes

AAOS issued a formal comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last month detailing orthopaedic surgeons’ concerns and recommendations relating to the calendar year (CY) 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule.

As CMS finalized the PFS for CY 2027, AAOS urged the agency to:

• maintain CY 2026 work relative value units (RVUs) for total shoulder, total hip, and total knee arthroplasty services along with shoulder hemiarthroplasty;
• withdraw the proposed 50% reduction for separately identifiable same-day office or outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) and procedural services; and
• refrain from finalizing additional practice-expense methodology changes without sufficient data and analysis of their impact on independent physician practices.

The proposed cuts, on top of years of inadequate payment updates, rising practice costs, and recent Medicare payment reductions, will make it increasingly difficult for independent orthopaedic practices to remain financially viable and provide timely, high-quality care to patients.

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Related Content

• Medicare’s proposed 2027 reimbursement changes affect patient access to care and the future of hip and knee arthroplasty (AAOS Now)

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AAOS coordinated action to protect independent practices, patient access, and the future of orthopaedic care by collaborating with policymakers to address the concerns of orthopaedic surgeons. AAOS members have also spoken out, sharing more than 5,000 letters with Congress and CMS on the proposed rule.

As noted by AAOS President Wilford K. Gibson, MD, FAAOS, in a recent interview with Becker’s Spine Review, “This is one of the most dangerous and severe situations I’ve seen in the 30-plus years I’ve been in orthopaedic practice.”

Read the full letter.