Bipartisan Medicare Payment Reform Bill Is Introduced

On July 15, Representatives John Joyce, MD (R-PA-13), Greg Murphy, MD, FACS (R-NC-03), and Kim Schrier, MD (D-WA-08), co-chairs of the GOP Doctors Caucus and Democratic Doctors Caucus, introduced the bipartisan Patients First Act of 2026, legislation intended to begin modernizing the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

The legislation includes several longstanding priorities of the ACS and the physician community, including establishing an annual inflationary payment update and increasing the budget neutrality threshold to help reduce unnecessary across-the-board payment cuts. The bill also includes broader reforms to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).

While these provisions represent meaningful progress, the legislation remains insufficient for surgeons. As currently drafted, it does not address several of the most pressing challenges facing surgical practice, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ harmful "efficiency" adjustment to work Relative Value Units (RVUs) and the Medicare physician payment reductions scheduled to take effect in 2027.

The legislation also includes a new payment demonstration program for primary care physicians that provides substantial new funding. By limiting this funding to primary care physicians, the legislation fails to adequately address the needs of surgeons and other specialists who continue to face payment instability.

ACS advocacy, together with our surgical coalition partners, helped strengthen the legislation before its introduction. We will continue working with lawmakers throughout the legislative process to improve the bill and ensure it more effectively addresses the needs of surgeons and surgical patients.

Until those changes are made, the ACS continues to strongly support the Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act, sponsored by Rep. Ron Estes, as the most direct means of preventing harmful cuts to work RVUs. 

Take action: Use SurgeonsVoice to urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act and stop harmful cuts to work RVUs.