Regulators trimmed doctors’ Medicare payments and hammered out other policies to reduce duplicative reimbursement. Providers slammed the cuts, saying they would further destabilize the sector.

Doctors will see their Medicare payments drop next year under a final rule released by the CMS on Wednesday.

Payment rates for most doctors will fall by 2.3% in 2027, while doctors who are enrolled in an alternative payment model will see their rates drop by 1.8%. Both are steeper cuts than initially proposed.

Medicare also finalized proposals that will reduce payment for some services that doctors perform on the same day in an effort to reduce duplicate payments, regulators said. The CMS will also boost certain payments for accountable care organizations, provider groups who assume financial responsibility for their patients’ health outcomes.

Although officials said the policies would reward physicians for improving seniors’ care, provider groups said the final rule would destabilize doctors.

The cuts are poised to “further degrade an already fragile payment system and amplify severe financial challenges caused by years of inadequate Medicare reimbursement,” Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of the Medical Group Management Association, said in a Wednesday statement.

Physicians have long advocated for reform to how Medicare pays them. Annual updates are required by law to be budget neutral, meaning Medicare physician pay has fallen behind the rising cost of delivering care, according to research. Congress normally steps in to hike Medicare’s physician pay rates before cuts go into effect.

The CMS finalized a proposal to cut Medicare payments when an evaluation and management visit is provided on the same day as a bundled surgical service at the same physician practice.

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