Yes, Medicare pays the medical bills for millions of people 65 and older. And its benefit is tremendous. But recent studies show it plays another huge role in American healthcare: It helps set prices for everyone in the economy.
Tag Archives: iwantdirectcare
April 10, 2014
April 9, 2014
Direct Care Is The Most Political, Least Political Healthcare
Originally posted on KevinMD.com
This post deserves a caveat — healthcare shouldn’t be a political issue. When someone comes into my office because they have chest pain, I don’t ask them “What’s your political leaning?” before administering care. And now after reading about the recent delay of ICD-10 in Congress, I realized that my choice in practicing Direct Care was the most political and least political thing I could have done.
April 9, 2014
Elephant In The Room — The Projected Primary Care Shortage
Projecting future physician workforce needs is a challenging calculation. You have to consider multiple variables to avoid missing the mark. In the mid-1990s, the American Medical Association confidently predicted that the penetration of managed care would lead to a large “physician surplus” and convinced Congress to cap the number of graduate medical education (GME) positions subsidized by the Medicare program. By the look of things today, that might not have been such a wise move.