Policymakers listen to the electorate, and it is critical for every orthopaedic surgeon and patient to provide feedback on Medicare issues to ensure that their voice is heard.
Radical Medicare Proposal Will Compromise Seniors’ Access to Medicare Services
Medicare’s calendar year (CY) 2027 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule, released earlier this summer, could make it far more challenging for seniors who rely on Medicare — whether it’s for orthopaedics, dermatology or a long list of other medical specialties.
It’s Time for Patients and Physicians to Engage
Adam Hines, MD, tells us why silence results in Medicare cuts, which will jeopardize patient access. If patients and physicians don’t speak up, it gives Medicare the green light to move forward with this radical proposal.
One Visit. One Trip. Medicare Wants to Change That.
Here’s what one proposal would mean for Medicare patients and their physicians. Today, when you come in, orthopaedic surgeons do everything possible in a single visit — examine you, review your X-rays, talk through your options and, if you need it, treat you right then, like giving an injection to ease your pain. One visit. One trip.
Under this proposal, Medicare would discourage physicians from doing more than one of those things on the same day. So instead of finishing your care in one appointment, you’d have to come back another day — more trips, more time away from work and family, more time waiting in pain for something we could have taken care of today.
And this reaches well beyond orthopaedics. Picture a visit to your dermatologist. You go in for a skin check, and during that same visit the doctor finds a suspicious spot that needs attention. Today, they can examine it and take care of it right then. Under this proposal, you could be sent home and told to come back another day to have it removed — waiting days or weeks on something that should be handled the moment it’s found.
Two Proposals, One Bad Outcome for Patients
A Penalty on Same-Day Care
Medicare is proposing to reduce payment when a separately identifiable office or other outpatient visit is furnished by the same physician — or a physician in the same group practice — on the same day as a 0-, 10- or 90-day global procedure.
Same-Day Services Cut in Half
Under the proposal, the most expensive service that day — whether the surgical procedure or the visit — is paid at 100%, and every other procedure or visit that day is paid at just 50%.
Deep Cuts That Threaten Access
The other change would make it harder for orthopaedic and many other specialist practices across Texas to keep their doors open for Medicare patients at all. Medicare is proposing cuts of up to 20 percent for hip and knee replacements and shoulder replacements.
When practices can no longer afford to see Medicare patients, seniors lose access to the specialists they depend on — and are left waiting longer, traveling farther and struggling to find care close to home.
Cuts of Up to 20%
For hip and knee replacements and shoulder replacements under this proposal.
Both Your Members of Congress and Medicare Need to Hear From Patients and Orthopaedic Surgeons
It’s critical for both your members of Congress and Medicare to hear from everyone. TOA has made it easy in a few simple steps:
Submit Your Comments to Medicare
We created a direct link below to the Medicare comment page.
Ask Your Member of Congress to Engage
First, determine your member of Congress. Then visit their web page to submit your ask (or call their Washington, D.C. office).
Submit Your Comments to Medicare
Medicare needs to hear from the orthopaedic surgeons who are keeping our nation’s seniors moving — and from the patients who depend on timely care. Tell Medicare why this proposal is the wrong direction:
- It penalizes efficient, patient-centered care by financially discouraging the exact thing that serves seniors best: resolving a problem in a single visit rather than fragmenting it across multiple appointments.
- It forces medically unnecessary return trips, adding copays, coinsurance, travel costs and lost work or caregiving time — burdens that fall hardest on rural, elderly and lower-income patients with limited transportation.
- It delays medically necessary treatment (biopsies, injections, fracture care) when timeliness matters clinically, risking worse outcomes for conditions that shouldn’t wait for the next open slot.
- It contradicts Medicare’s own stated goals around reducing patient burden, improving access and lowering total cost of care.
- These cuts reduce access to care for Medicare beneficiaries, driving up wait times for hip, knee and shoulder replacements.
- They accelerate consolidation across health care, which pushes the cost of care even higher.
- They work against the Make America Healthy Again movement — keeping seniors mobile and active is exactly how we keep America moving and healthy.
Contact Your Member of Congress
Your member of Congress represents you — and they need to tell Medicare that this is a terrible idea for the seniors and families they serve. It only takes a few minutes, and it makes a real difference. Here’s how to do it in two steps:
Determine Your Member of Congress
Not sure who represents you? Head to house.gov and use the “Find Your Representative” lookup in the upper-right corner — just enter your ZIP code.
Reach Out — by Email or Phone
Once you know your representative, click their box below to go straight to their contact form. Prefer to call? Their Washington, D.C. office number is listed on each card. Your two U.S. Senators represent every Texan — reach out to them too.
TX-23 is currently vacant following Rep. Tony Gonzales’ resignation; a special election is pending. Not sure of your district? Use the house.gov lookup above.
Download the Flyer
TOA’s one-page flyer lays out the CY 2027 proposed rule in plain language — the same-day payment penalty and the deep cuts to hip, knee and shoulder replacements. Download it to get up to speed quickly, then share it with patients, colleagues and staff to bring more voices to the fight before the September 14 deadline.
One Page · PDF · Print It or Email It to Share
Why Don’t We Write the Letters for You?
A personalized comment carries far more weight than a mass-produced form letter. Medicare tells us so directly:
Join the Conversation
Orthopaedic leaders across the country are already sounding the alarm about the same-day payment cuts and urging their peers to submit comments. Add your voice to theirs.
Learn More
TOA members can check their email for TOA’s deep dive into Medicare’s CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule.
Speak Up Before September 14
The comment window closes at 5:00 PM Eastern on September 14, 2026. Take five minutes today to protect access to orthopaedic care for Texas patients.
Make Your Voice HeardTOA’s Advocacy Message
Hear directly from Texas orthopaedic surgeons why it’s critical to engage in the public policy process.
