Significant Cuts to Surgical Care on the Horizon

3.75% cut in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reinstate a 3.75% cut to surgical care that Congress prevented last year.

4% cut due to PAYGO

This occurs when mandatory spending and revenue legislation increase the federal budget deficit over a 5- or 10-year period. When Congress passed the American Rescue Plan earlier this year, it triggered the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, necessitating an additional 4% PAYGO sequestration cut to Medicare.

2% cut due to sequestration

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act extended the annual 2% payment cut to Medicare providers mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, through 2030.

Cuts to global surgical codes

The proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule continues to pay some physicians more for an office visit — evaluation and management (E/M) — than others, systematically devaluing surgical care.