The American Society of Anesthesiologists has submitted formal comments to CMS opposing key provisions of its proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule, including a 50% payment cut for services reported with Modifier 25.
ASA’s Sept. 14 comment letter also called for at least a one-year delay of the untested Ambulatory Specialty Model, which is set to launch in January, and for greater transparency around anesthesia-specific practice expense and malpractice adjustments, according to the ASA. The society said CMS’ proposed conversion factor update falls short of keeping pace with rising practice costs, workforce expenses and inflation.
ASA also opposed Quality Payment Program changes that would eliminate two anesthesia-specific quality measures covering the prevention of nausea and vomiting after surgery. The society urged CMS to preserve topped-out and specialty-specific measures through more flexible scoring as the program transitions to the MIPS Value Pathway framework, and asked CMS to recognize anesthesia physical status modifiers in the same manner as other complexity modifiers.
CMS is expected to finalize the rule around Nov. 1, with most policies taking effect Jan. 1.
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