Doctor and senior woman wearing facemasks during coronavirus and flu outbreak. Virus protection. COVID-2019..

Reducing Medicare payments to physicians will limit the number of older patients doctors are willing to see, the American Medical Association said this week.

An AMA survey of almost 9,000 members found that about a quarter of respondents will completely stop seeing Medicare patients if a looming payment cut is enacted.

A formula used to determine payments threatens to reduce outlays by as much as 10% in 2008, the physicians’ group noted. Congress has intervened over the last five years to overrule the formula, but the current Congress still has not taken similar action, the AMA noted.