By Susan Jaffe

POLITICO PRO   12/23/11 4:46 PM EST

When Congress gets back from the holidays, lawmakers are going to have to figure out how to find enough money to delay cuts in Medicare payments to doctors for a full year — but the patients have already started to pay for their share in their 2012 premiums.

Lost in the Capitol Hill debate is the fact that the federal government contributes only 75 percent of the cost of doctor visits and other outpatient services covered by Part B of the Medicare program. Under federal law, seniors chip in for the remaining 25 percent in the form of monthly premiums. The amount is based on estimated expenses for the coming year. And in calculating that share, Medicare officials anticipated that Congress would cancel the pay cut.

That means the patients will effectively pay part of the cost of a Sustainable Growth Rate “fix” before it’s been fixed…. more

Seniors already paying for full-year ‘doc fix’