Call to Action: Bill Takes Aim at CMS’ Efficiency Adjustment
by ACOI
February 17, 2026
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. The cut, which took effect on January 1, 2026, 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 on February 12 by Representatives Ron Estes (R-KS) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) with the support of more than 30 medical societies, including ACOI.
ACOI members are asked to contact their representative through the ACOI Action Center and ask them to co-sponsor 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, indefinitely.
The legislation stops the application of an efficiency adjustment until at least January 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.
The legislation preserves and builds into the conversion factor baseline the 2026 positive .49 percent adjustment caused by the efficiency adjustment.