Organogenesis, MiMedx fall after CMS rule to cut skin substitutes spending

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a proposed rule “that would increase quality care for Medicare recipients while significantly reducing unnecessary spending.” The 2026 Medicare physician fee Schedule proposed rule “would advance primary care management through new quality measures, reduce waste and unnecessary use of skin substitutes, and introduce a new payment model focused on improving care for chronic disease management,” the agency said in a statement. “CMS is proposing to improve the care of chronic diseases by reducing burdens associated with the integration of behavioral health treatment into advanced primary care management,” it added. CMS noted that Medicare spending on skin substitutes “has had unprecedented growth,” rising from $256M in 2019 to over $10B in 2024, according to Medicare Part B claims data. “CMS currently treats skin substitutes as biologicals for the purposes of Medicare payment, which can reach as high as $2,000 per square inch. CMS is proposing to pay for skin substitutes as incident-to supplies, a change expected to reduce spending on these products by nearly 90%.” Shares trading lower following the CMS proposed rule include Organogenesis (ORGO) and MiMedx (MDXG).