To be sure, there are some inequities in physician incomes and Medicare fees.

For cataract surgery, one of the more commonly performed procedures, the basic Medicare fee is $960.

The government previously said that doctors could expect increases in Medicare fees in 2004 and later years.

Ambulance operators say the new Medicare fees will not cover their costs.

Many doctors said they feared that the information could be used by the government to justify cutting their Medicare fees.

Doctors, who were facing a 4.5 percent cut in Medicare fees next year, would get a small increase.

Doctors say some patients are willing to pay two or three times the Medicare fee for the services of an eminent specialist.

And those Medicare fees, they are just another burden for my grandmother.

In these cases, Medicaid may pay some of your Medicare fees.

Federal officials contend that many doctors partly offset cuts in their Medicare fees by performing more services.