Senate and House negotiators have returned to the bargaining table to work on the so-called “doc fix” problem involving what physicians are paid when treating Medicare patients.

Unless Congress takes action by the end of this month, doctors face a 27 percent cut in reimbursements under Medicare.

In a new GHN Commentary, Atlanta psychiatrist Dr. Patrice A. Harris writes that if Congress does not solve the pay problem once and for all, ‘‘physicians will be forced to make unwelcome choices, including limiting the number of Medicare patients they take on.’’

Harris, a board member of the American Medical Association, supports using funds originally projected for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to eliminate the flawed Medicare formula.

Here’s a link to Harris’ Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please e-mail Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com