GOP doctors say stand-alone 'doc fix' needed if no payroll tax cut deal

House Republican doctors say leadership should consider a stand-alone "doc fix" if the Senate doesn't agree to a conference committee on the larger payroll tax package. Doctors are facing a nearly 30 percent cut in their Medicare payments if Congress doesn't act by the end of the year — and it's increasingly likely that Congress won't. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) told reporters Tuesday that he believes the Senate will agree to go to conference and reconcile the two chambers' payroll tax extensions. But if Senate Democrats hold firm, he said, the doc fix should pass on its own.