Physicians at the Missouri Heart Center have had to change the way they welcome patients. The potential Medicare cuts have put pressure on them to reconsider the number of Medicare patients they can see.

"Right now in Columbia, it's difficult to find a primary care physician to see a new Medicare patient, cause they're limiting the number of those patients because the reimbursements is not enough to cover the cost," explained Medicare physician Dr. Jerry Kennett.

The Senate did pass a bill that would stop the cuts from going into effect July 15th, but at Columbia's Senior Center, there were some people that did express some concerns about the cuts.

"There may be a time where the primary physician will say, Medicare doesn't pay me enough, so I'm going to collect from you, and then you can collect from Medicare whatever you can get," said Medicare patient Thelma Cester.

The Senate's bill to stop the cuts must still go through President Bush, who's said he opposes it. That could mean doctors and patients will have to get ready for cuts all over again.

The American Medical Association reports 60 percent of physicians nationwide would limit the number of new Medicare patients if the cuts went through.