Archive for January 2014
WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH PHYSICIANS? ONE OF LIFE’S “UNANSWERABLE” QUESTIONS
Volume 92, Issue 4, 2014 (Op-Ed) One of the most contentious health care issues of the past decade—aside from debating the merits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—is whether there is a looming shortage of physicians and, if so, what its magnitude will be. What appears to be clear is that past studies and projections…
Read MoreMEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT REFORM IN 2014 IS LOOKING UNLIKELY
Volume 92, Issue 2, 2014 (Op-Ed) After more than two decades of paying physicians using a resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) in combination with a spending limit, there has been a growing convergence of views in Congress about the next steps needed to reform how physicians are reimbursed by Medicare. Despite this and a decade…
Read MoreThe VA Continues to Struggle—Especially in Terms of Improved Access
Volume 94, Issue 3, 2014 (Op-Ed) VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald’s comment in May comparing the wait time for care at the VA with those at a Disney theme park may be one of the more politically tone-deaf remarks from a cabinet member in recent memory. The secretary was correct in saying that wait times…
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