Medicare payments to physicians, hospitals and nursing homes could be delayed if the federal debt ceiling is not increased by next week, CNNMoney.com reported.

Some physician groups, including the 98,000-member American Academy of Family Physicians, have started to warn affiliates that their paychecks may not get mailed until the debt-ceiling issue in Washington, D.C., is resolved.

“We felt it was important to tell our members to be ready for this,” said Roland Goertz, president of the academy. “It is highly likely that there will be some impact upon Medicare payments.”

The American College of Surgeons, which earlier this week sent to its members a similar alert via email, warned that “if Congress and the president do not raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, there is a chance that Medicare claims will not be paid.”

Last year, the government paid out $515.8 billion in total Medicare benefits to health-care providers, such as nursing facilities, home health-care centers and pharmacies, CNNMoney.com said.

Of that amount, hospitals received $168 billion, doctors received $64.5 billon, and pharmacies, as part of Medicare’s prescription drug programs, received $61.7 billion.