Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to stop the 2.5 percent Medicare cut to work Relative Value Units (RVUs) for all non-time-based physician fee schedule services that took effect on Jan. 1, 2026. 

The cut stems from a new ‘efficiency adjustment’ policy finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last November. CMS instituted the policy because it assumes that, for non-time-based services, providers accrue gains in efficiency over time.

The Efficiency Adjustment Delay Act (H.R. 7520) was introduced by Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and with the support of ASNC.  

ASGE members are asked to contact their representative and urge them to cosponsor the legislation. 

The legislation constitutes an effort to curtail CMS’ sweeping policy that affects more than 90 percent of physician services. Moreover, under current regulations, the efficiency adjustment will be re-calculated and applied every three years, in perpetuity. 

The legislation stops the application of an efficiency adjustment until at least Jan. 1, 2030. In the intervening time, CMS would be required to supply evidence that supports the application of an across-the-board adjustment to work RVUs. If an adjustment is justified, legislative guardrails would ensure the adjustment could only be applied one time and would exempt services that have been revalued or reviewed within 10 years. 

Congressional lawmakers need to hear from you to understand the long-term impact of this policy change on physicians.

Take action today using a template letter developed by ASGE  that you can personalize.