08/28/2026
Blogs & News From APA
CMS Proposed Rule for the CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule
By Doris Parfaite-Claude
JUN 22, 2026
Act Now: Demand that the Administration Elevate Behavioral Health
Send messages today to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve access to psychological services in 2027, and beat the September 14, 2026, deadline. Join us in showing a united front across the discipline of psychology to ensure that the Administration’s policies surrounding patient wellness and whole-person care are grounded in psychological science and practice, before time runs out on the comment period.
The policy we are focusing on here, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, is far-reaching because it has a strong influence on coverage and reimbursement policies in other health care programs. If you care about behavioral health access across the United States, this is a proposal you need to weigh in on. Keep scrolling to learn more!
The link provided below will route you to an action alert with an editable template message to CMS. State, provincial and territorial psychology associations (SPTAs) seeking to submit formal letters will receive separate template language from APA Services.
Make Your Voices Heard Today
Why Is the Physician Fee Schedule Important?
CMS’ annual PFS proposed rule has serious implications across health care. Because this rule has a strong influence on coverage and reimbursement policies in other health care programs, all psychologists — whether they are consultants, researchers, clinicians, educators, or students — have a stake in this rule.
Historically, proposed rules covered topics important both to psychology and patients, including those from vulnerable populations and rural populations. For example, last year’s proposed rule included provisions on telehealth access and digital therapeutics, while the 2024 proposed rule included provisions around caregiver training, and funding for crisis services, among other topics.
This year’s proposed rule also covers topics important to many patients across the United States. By sending a brief message to CMS, you are helping elevate the visibility of the science, practice, and discipline of psychology to federal agencies, and protecting the well-being of underserved populations beyond Medicare beneficiaries.
Help Us Continue Building on Successful Efforts from Previous Years
The CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule issued by CMS contains proposals, listed below, that benefit the field of psychology and patients alike. APA Services, along with psychology stakeholders like you, have worked hard to achieve this result through thousands of advocacy messages, and education of leadership at CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees CMS.
The proposed rule contains several provisions that improve reimbursement of services provided by psychologists. These include the proposal to adjust the method by which CMS calculates indirect practice expenses for purposes of reimbursement and the proposals to readjust how certain reimbursement codes used by psychologists are valued. Increasing Medicare reimbursement fees will have a ripple effect across Medicaid and private insurance reimbursement, making it possible for more psychologists to take those forms of insurance. CMS needs to know that policies like these are supported by psychologists and allies of psychology to finalize them.
Other proposals require some more fine-tuning for them to be more effective. These proposals include:
Increasing values for all integrated care codes, including not just collaborative care but also general behavioral health integration (BHI) service codes;
Ensuring that health coaching service codes are available not just for management of chronic medical conditions, but behavioral health conditions as well; and
Facilitating valuation adjustments for neurobehavioral status exam, psych/neuropsych testing, and psych/neuropsych test administration codes.
Combined, these provisions would make it easier for psychologists to meet patients where they are at, and improve patient outcomes by expanding coverage. Therefore, it is important that CMS hear from you on how to fine-tune this proposal.
Send a Comment to CMS Today!
While our template message can be sent in its entirety, you can also personalize the text and/or remove components that are not relevant to you.
How Much Time Do I Have to Comment?
The comment period closes at 11:59pm EDT on September 14, 2026. Please contact Doris Parfaite-Claude, MPP with any additional questions.
How Many People Have Commented from My State?
Starting on August 4, 2026, we will post a table breaking down comments submitted through this portal by state. We will update it every Tuesday by 12pm Eastern until the September 14, 2026 comment deadline. We will post final tallies on September 15, 2026.
Updated 8.25.2026.
