Today, I received the following email from a concerned citizen:

I just got a letter from my PCP. She is closing her practice at the end of Nov. She cites stringent demands of insurance companies, diminishing reimbursements, and growing operating costs as the reasons. She says that she has had to work harder and harder and as a result has neglected the needs of her own family.

This is so sad! I really like her, and trust her. She’s is also very good.  Is this happening to lots of others too or is this just the beginning?

This is indeed sad and happening to a growing number of physicians, especially those in primary care. Unless we fix our broken payment mechanism to appropriately reward physicians for their hard work and personal sacrifices, this trend will soon translate into a full-blown crisis that can threaten the health of our nation’s aging population and our competitiveness in the global marketplace as we pour more money into our wasteful (and greedy) third party system.

Filed under: Culture, Health Policy