CMS final 2027 fee schedule cuts same-day payment for office visits and 0-day procedures; verified emergency surgery programs tied to lower mortality

• Payment Nov 4, 2026
  CMS final 2027 fee schedule pays the lesser service at 80% when office visits and 0-day global procedures share a day
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said that when an office or outpatient visit is billed the same day as a 0-day global procedure, the most expensive service will be paid at 100% and the others at 80%. The proposal had also covered 10- and 90-day global procedures and set the rate at 50%. CMS set the nonqualifying alternative payment model conversion factor at $32.63, a projected decrease of $0.77, or 2.31%. The rule takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
  Source: CMS
• Payment Nov 4, 2026
  CMS final 2027 outpatient rule removes 637 more services from inpatient-only list and adds hundreds of ASC procedures
  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its 2027 hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment rule Nov. 4, continuing to phase out the inpatient-only list and expanding the ASC covered procedures list by several hundred surgical procedures, CMS said. CMS finalized removal of 637 more services from the inpatient-only list, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). The rule also expands site-neutral payment to imaging without contrast and pays separately payable 340B drugs at average sales price minus 28%, the AHA said.
  Sources: CMS, American Hospital Association
• Research Nov 4, 2026
  Emergency general surgery verification linked to 1.63-point lower 30-day mortality in 21,858 patients at 55 hospitals
  In a difference-in-differences cohort study of 21,858 patients at 55 hospitals (five verified and 50 controls), early adoption of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) emergency general surgery verification program was associated with 30-day mortality 1.63 percentage points lower (95% CI -2.55 to -0.71), according to JAMA Surgery. Acute kidney injury was 1.23 percentage points lower (95% CI -2.00 to -0.46) and length of stay 1.31 days shorter (95% CI -1.95 to -0.67). The study was observational and quasi-experimental, not randomized.
  Sources: JAMA Surgery, PubMed
• Research Nov 2, 2026
  Meta-analysis of 29 studies finds no significant survival difference between primary endocrine therapy and surgery in older women
  A JAMA Network Open systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 studies (six randomized trials and 23 observational cohorts), with an overall median age of 83.1 years, compared primary endocrine therapy with upfront surgery for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Pooled trial data showed no statistically significant overall survival difference (hazard ratio 1.14; 95% CI 0.98 to 1.33).
  Sources: JAMA Network Open, PubMed
• FDA Nov 3, 2026
  Baxter corrects 62 TruSystem 7000 operating tables because the main lift may drop unexpectedly during surgery
  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a Class 2 recall on Nov. 3 covering 62 TruSystem 7000 U operating tables (dV). The main lift may unexpectedly drop from its set position to its lowest position during use, which may cause abrupt patient displacement during surgery, according to the recall entry. Baxter issued the correction after finding that four units underwent spindle replacement without the required belt tension verification, and customers can continue to use the tables.
  Source: FDA

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