With the Republican Massachusetts State Sen. Scott Brown having won the Senate seat vacated by the death of Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, by beating state Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election on January 19, the fate of a comprehensive health system reform effort is now up in the air!

However, the American Medical Association (AMA), other physician organizations as well as seniors groups - all of whom were expecting the passage of the health reform for a lasting solution to the Medicare physician payment system - are apparently rallying to avert the reform from becoming a casualty of Capitol Hills’ changed political scenario.

Drawing attention to impending 21.2 percent cut, scheduled to take effect March 1, in the Medicare physician payment system, the AMA reiterated at a January 21 news conference that the cut will lead to access problems for seniors and military families.

Noting that the AMA opposes any kind of “temporary fix” to the busted sustainable growth rate formula, Nancy H. Nielsen, AMA’s ex-president, said: “We do not want a five-year fix, or any short-term fix. We want a permanent fix.”

Elaborating further, Nielsen said: “the price tag grows” whenever there is a temporary fix; and added: “That's why we are in the $200 billion price tag range right now. That is not fiscally responsible.”