Medical lobby keeps up ‘doc fix’ push

Medical groups are keeping up the pressure on Congress to find a long-term solution to Medicare’s payment formula for doctors.

The American Medical Group Association said in a letter Friday that Congress’s near-constant cycle of short-term “doc fix” bills is a strain on doctors as well as the Medicare program, and the group pressed Congress to find a longer-term solution. The latest temporary patch is set to expire March 1, at which point doctors would see a nearly 30 percent cut in the Medicare payments.

The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physicians’ lobby, has said it’s finished lobbying on short-term payment patches and is focused solely on a permanent replacement to Medicare’s formula.