It’s hard to fault Cecil B. Wilson, M.D., for his harsh criticism of Congress last week.

Doctors are facing a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments. It’s the result of a cost-cutting formula that has been in effect since the 1990s, but routinely waived.

Despite consensus on the issue, however, politics has temporarily blocked this year’s waiver. As a result, payments to physicians will be cut sharply, and some have said they will stop accepting new Medicare patients.

“Congress is playing Russian roulette with seniors’ health care,” said Dr. Wilson, president of the American Medical Association. “This is no way to run a major health coverage program”

The failure of Congress to promptly remedy this problem is a symptom of  the adversarial culture of Washington. In this case, the Medicare fix was caught up in the politics of a bill to extend unemployment benefits.

There is every reason to believe that this drastic reduction of physicians’ revenue will be corrected soon, and that full reimbursement will eventually be made. The Senate has passed a temporary fix and the House is expected to agree.

But the AMA, the AARP and those who depend on Medicare coverage are right to be concerned at the program’s vulnerability to shifting political winds. As doctors lose confidence in the system, those who rely on the program are likely to suffer.

Medicare is expected to benefit from the increased revenue and greater efficiency promised by health care reform.  The new approach should also protect it from becoming an unintended casualty of political infighting.

The inability of Congress to manage Medicare’s finances is one more reason why reform is overdue.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.