Medicare pay cuts loom for specialists: Health Care Inc.

Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers, and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.

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Medicare doesn’t back down

Late Friday, Medicare issued its final word on physician payments for 2026. The agency is following through on its earlier plan to cut payments for surgeries and other procedures by 2.5%, or what it’s calling the efficiency adjustment, over strong objections from surgeons and other specialists.