Politicians are finally hearing the reality of the problems in
medicine. Some "insiders" have visited various congressmen and folks in CMS who state that their goal is raising the income of primary care doctors. They understand the fact that costs are much higher if there is a high percent of specialists in relation to primary care doctors.
The promise is that over the next few years, the income of primary care
physicians will rise through increased Medicare reimbursement.
So I am told.
My contacts are reliable.
I don't believe them.
I don't care if I hear it from the head of CMS and both presidential
candidates. I don't care if I hear it from the guy who personally
authorizes the checks. We have been waiting so long, only to see
decreased reimbursement for more work.
As a group, primary care physicians are jaded. We are used to being
the step-child. Hospitals build big wings for OB and Cardiology.
Specialists build fancy office buildings and drive the expensive cars.
We are used to seeing insurance company profits shoot up while our
income goes down. We are a name to put on a list for the hospital so
they can get contracts, or a source of ancillary income for hosptials.
What is the job of the PCP? To serve as a conduit to send patients to
specialists so they can make more money than us. To avoid expensive
procedures and keep costs down so that the insurance company profits
are higher. Is that cynical? Sure it is. But is it wrong?
The difficult irony is that our patients value us far more than they
value the specialist, hospital, or insurance company. If it were up to
patients, we would have a higher income than the others. But it isn't
up to them. It is up to the politicians and lobyists. It is up to the
shareholders of the insurance companies.
But things are going to change.
So I am told.
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