With the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failing to reach agreement on a deficit-reduction proposal, physicians still face a 27 percent cut in Medicare physician payments scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

"The deficit committee had a unique opportunity to stabilize the Medicare program for America's seniors now and for generations to come," AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD, said in a statement. "Once again, Congress failed to stop the charade of scheduled annual physician payment cuts and short-term patches that spend more taxpayer money to perpetuate a policy all agree is fatally flawed. A decade of uncertainty and repeated threats of steep cuts threaten access to care for seniors and military families who rely on the Medicare and TRICARE programs."

Proposals to repeal the SGR fell victim to disagreement over fundamental principles for achieving deficit reduction. Sharp partisan division over the mix of entitlement cuts and tax hikes prevented the supercommittee from reaching any agreement on a deficit-reduction package.

Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John Kyl (R-Ariz.), and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) were among the leading advocates for SGR repeal in the supercommittee negotiations. Earlier this year, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) had also offered a deficit-reduction package that included SGR repeal.        

Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have publicly stated their commitment to take action this year to avert the 27 percent cut. Options for SGR relief outside of the supercommittee process have ranged from short-term patches of a year or two to longer-term relief that provides for transition to a new Medicare physician payment system.