Small Business: Doctors Going Broke
By Parija Kavilanz | CNNMoney.com

Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.

This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists. Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.

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"If this continues, I might seriously consider leaving medicine," [one doctor] said. "I can't keep working this way." Also on his mind, the impending 27.4% Medicare pay cut for doctors. "If that goes through, it will put us under," he said.
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Although Congress has blocked those cuts from happening 13 times over the past decade, most recently on Dec. 23 with a two-month temporary "patch," this dilemma continues to haunt doctors every year.

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