An impending 21.2% cut in Medicare pay to physicians might just be delayed from the previous start date of March 01 to October 01, mainly because of a purported draft of a Senate jobs bill currently making rounds in Washington.

All throughout the present healthcare revamp debate; the Democrats have been seeking a legislative solution to the source of pay cut, which is the sustainable growth rate formula for calculating physician pays in Medicare.

The SGR formula is used to trigger a pay cut whenever Medicare spending on services offered by doctors goes beyond a yearly target based partially on the growth in gross domestic production.

The plan to delay the pay cut is a part of an $80 Billion job-creation proposal, which was announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday.

“It is deeply disappointing that the Senate is considering a short-term, Band-Aid approach. Kicking the can down the road with another short-term action increases the size of the cut and cost of reform and makes it very difficult for physicians to care for seniors and military families", said J. James Rohack, President of the American Medical Association.