WASHINGTON (AP) — Hospitals, doctors and other Medicare providers are on the hook for a 2 percent cut under looming government spending reductions.

But they're not raising a ruckus. Why not?

The reason is the pain could be a lot worse if President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress actually did reach a big deal to slash federal deficits.

The automatic cuts taking effect Friday reduce Medicare spending by about $100 billion over a decade.

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