Bipartisan fix advancing for Medicare doctors’ pay

FILE - In this April 17, 2013 file photo, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. A fundamental change in the budget equation has handed lawmakers a rare opportunity to repeal Medicare’s broken physician payment policy, and also free themselves from having to waive billions of dollars in pending cuts every year. Slowing health care inflation has more than halved the estimated cost of repealing the old formula, bringing it down to $116.5 billion over 10 years. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — It's that time of year again: doctors caring for Medicare patients once more face a steep pay cut. But this time Congress is pursuing a permanent fix to the annual drama that has undermined the medical profession's confidence in the nation's premier health program.