One of the many worries for doctors related to the new Health Care Act and the Fiscal Cliff was directly related to an almost 30% cut in premiums paid for Medicare services.  The bill that passed will block, at least for the next year, a scheduled 27% cut in reimbursements for Medicare physicians.

The “Doc Fix”, as it is being called, shifts some of the amounts back to hospitals, which obviously are not happy about that.

The reduction for doctors comes from a payment formula created in a 1997 deficit reduction law. For the first few years, doctors received modest pay increases. But in 2002, doctors reacted with fury when they came in for a 4.8 percent pay cut under that plan. Every year since, Congress has staved off the scheduled cuts.