Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services on Nov 8 cited her speech to the Association of American Medical Colleges saying the Obama Administration wants to halt the scheduled 23% cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

The cut was intended to lower the Medicare cost and scheduled to go into effect at the end of November.  Over the years, lawmakers have repeatedly delayed the cutting of Medicare payments.

Secretary Sebelius wrote on the website of medicare.gov that "Today, in a speech to the Association of American Medical Colleges, I spoke about why this Administration has made it a priority to ensure this extreme cut in payments to doctors is addressed during the upcoming Congressional session."

She said in her speech that "The 23% cut in Medicare payments to doctors could force doctors out of the Medicare program and jeopardize the care of our seniors."

Medicare - the nation's largest health insurance program administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, covers nearly 40 million Americans.

This health insurance program is for people aged 65 or older, some disabled people under 65 and people of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R- Iowa) have repeatedly worked out a deal to delay the cut for another month, which means unless another measure is taken the cut will be take effect in Jan 1, 2011.  

The delay gives Congress an opportunity to halt or adjust the scheduled cut.  But it is far away from what the American Medical Association has wanted.  It has proposed a 13 month extension!

Health care is a long standing political platform. President Obama scored some political points on this issue. But polls found Americans now believe the economy, to be specific, the high unemployment rate, is a more important issue. Some complained that the Obama Administration spent too much on health care, but not enough on the economy.

David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton