For nine years in a row, Congress has enacted legislation to override large payment cuts to physicians. But lawmakers haven’t acted to get rid of the SGR and replace it with a formula that works. Since he took office, President Obama has called for a “permanent fix” to the SGR that would avoid this annual exercise. While we stopped the cuts scheduled for 2010 and 2011, we are now faced with the prospect of a 29.5 percent cut in 2012.

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed rules that spell out how this cut is calculated and warned that if Congress does not act in time, doctor fees will be slashed come January 1. We cannot – and will not – let this happen.