Doctors across the United States are facing a 27 percent Medicare cut on January 1 according to a 1990 budget law, reports the Associated Press.

Congress could avoid those cuts if it passes a "doc fix" before that time that would keep provider payments stable. Meanwhile, doctors have expressed deep concern about the cuts.

"The AMA is deeply concerned that continued instability in the Medicare program, including the looming 27 percent cut scheduled for January 1, will force many physicians to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they can care for in their practices," the AMA said in a statement on Nov. 21.

The lack of action from Congress puts in jeopardy millions of elderly and disabled people who are suscribed to Medicare programs.

Last year, Congress acted to pass a temporary fix that avoided a 20 percent cut in payments to physicians.

Congress would need to add $300 billion in spending to restore the 27 percent cut to doctors this year. But that fix would have to be agreed in Congress amid a serious struggle to reach a deal to reduce $1.2 trillion from the deficit.

Last December, Congress passed a one-year-doc-fix that cost $19 billion and is valid until the end of this year.