Leading doctors group raises specter of looming Medicare cuts

The leading U.S. physicians group congratulated President Obama on Wednesday but warned of looming cuts set to hit Medicare in the new year unless Congress acts.

Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula calls for annual, automatic cuts in the program's payments to doctors. Since 2003, Congress has passed short-term fixes to avoid those cuts. The current fix expires on Dec. 31.

The American Medical Association promised to work with lawmakers and the Obama administration to ensure physicians who treat Medicare patients don't see a 27-percent hit in January. 

"It is time to transition to a plan that will move Medicare away from this broken physician payment system and toward a Medicare program that rewards physicians for providing well-coordinated, efficient, high-quality patient care while reducing healthcare costs," the group's president, Jeremy Lazarus, added.

Lawmakers have proposed ways to repeal the SGR, but it is unclear if those measures will gain traction as Congress navigates a busy lame-duck session.

---