Docs Brace for $11 Billion Hit from Sequester

Friday's Cliff: Nondefense Programs to be Slashed by Roughly 8% 

WASHINGTON -- Medicare providers stand to absorb $11 billion of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that start Friday and last for the rest of the fiscal year unless Congress takes 11th-hour action.

Under the impending sequester, Medicare payments to providers will be cut by 2%, and most nondefense programs will be slashed by roughly 8% starting Friday.

The across-the-board method to limit federal spending has been criticized and deemed harmful by both political parties and nearly all interest groups.  But with little agreement on what to replace the spending cuts with, it's growing more likely they will actually take effect. Read More