The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has joined a coalition of other medical associations in an American Medical Association (AMA) grassroots campaign calling for a permanent Medicare physician pay fix. The coalition is advocating for repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that is used to update Medicare physician pay. Physicians are scheduled for a 30 percent Medicare pay cut on Jan. 1, unless Congress intervenes. The coalition is urging the new joint House and Senate committee, charged with recommending $1.2 trillion in federal deficit savings, to include a permanent SGR fix in its plan. Congressional leaders are not commenting, or are pessimistic that the committee will include the more than $300 billion fix in its recommendations. The coalition, however, pointed out that every significant Congressional budget proposal has included replacing the SGR formula in its comprehensive deficit reduction plan.