HOUSTON (FinalCall.com) - “In my 50 years in medicine, I’ve not seen the level of frustration and anger out there now,” said Dr. Josie Williams.

“Most doctors have got to the point that they don’t think the real problem is ever going to be fixed and are looking at whether to continue participating. They feel they’ve carried Medicare on their back as long as they can.”

Dr. Williams is the president of the Texas Medical Association, the group that conducted a recent survey among doctors throughout the state and the results were not favorable for inner city families and senior citizens. Due in part to a constant bout with Congress over cuts in reimbursements only 58 percent of doctors surveyed accept new Medicare patients, down from an estimated 90 percent before 1990. Among primary- care doctors, the percentage is even lower at 38 percent.

TMA leaders are predicting that the percentage will only worsen if Congress doesn’t arrive at a comprehensive, longterm and favorable solution soon. Congressional sessions resumed after a Fourth of July recess and a nearly 11 percent reimbursement cut is scheduled to go into effect by mid-July.

“Soon there won’t be a doctor in sight for the poor,” said 64- year-old Regina Williams, a Medicare beneficiary, who has had difficulty finding a doctor in Dallas. “What am I supposed to do? If I can’t afford the high price health insurance and this is all I have, then I guess these Texas doctors and Congress are going to leave us out to dry.

Senior citizens and low-income families are going to be impacted the most by this.” Ms. Williams is not alone. The struggle to find a doctor who still takes new Medicare beneficiaries has hit home for Robert Sloane, a senior citizen residing in Fort Worth.

According to news reports, his longtime doctor took early retirement and left him hunting for a replacement.

“They (receptionists) were always very nice, but the questions were a clear code that they didn’t take Medicare patients,” said Mr. Sloane, a retired surgeon.

“The whole experience gave me a firsthand feel for a problem I’d only heard stories about before.”

The 10.6 percent cuts in Medicare payments were to take effect July 1 but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would process no new claims until July 15, giving Congress a chance to block the reduction. True reform or political move?

According to TMA, if the cuts were to be implemented along with an additional 5 percent for the beginning of 2009, Texas doctors would be out $860 million in treating the disabled and elderly over the next 18 months. On average, each doctor would face an $18,000 cut over that time period.

News wires reported that CMS intervened after the Senate voted not to take up legislation passed by the House that would pull from a Medicare pool of money that currently goes to private, fee-for-service insurers and use it for the traditional Medicare program. President George Bush vowed to veto that bill.

As what is seen as a political chess move, Congress is expected to reach a quick resolution in part because the Republicans nor Democrats want to overlook the valuable vote of millions of seniors in November’s national election.

Doctors aren’t hopeful that the resolution will be complete reform and expect a band-aid to cover up the leakage of less money. Doctors are expecting to see reimbursements reduced by 40 percent over the next nine years if the present formula continues.

Their sentiments were echoed by Texas Senator John Cornyn. In a letter to his colleagues, Sen. Cornyn stated that instead of reforming the system, “Congress has made a never-ending series of patchwork fixes that were inefficient and costly and caused undue hardship on everyone involved.”

Sen. Cornyn has sponsored a bill, endorsed by the TMA, that would get rid of the formula. But that bill won’t be given the proper attention until a new Congress takes over in January.