Thank you, Al Franken
We’re going to continue today’s theme of thanks by sending some gratitude towards Minnesota. Just like every other state in the nation, Minnesota is faced with a shortage of primary care physicians. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out one of the big reasons: a graduating medical student has little reason to become a family physician if he or she can make two, three, or even more times as much money by choosing a more lucrative specialty, like dermatology or radiology. This financial disincentive comes even more into play when considering the staggering six-figure debt that most medical school graduates are faced with today. Part of the solution, Senator Franken realizes, is to provide loan forgiveness to those graduates who choose to enter primary care or work in underserved areas. It’s a no-brainer that unfortunately hasn’t caught on very well in the power circles. Here’s some hope that it gains some traction.
28 Oct 2009 ekchung
2 Responses to “Thank you, Al Franken”
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Hmm, I don’t think this kind of spending is going to be a long-term fix for the problem. Paying people to do the right thing doesn’t have a very good track record in promoting long-term behavioral change ($20 for your A in history class?). NPs and PAs can pick up a lot of the slack in family medicine, and their training is shorter and cheaper. It’s more important that we restructure the health care system to make it more cost-effective. That might end up making gross doctor pay go down, which no physicians want to see. If you look at other countries with better health care systems, doctors are paid a lot less than they are here. But they also have to put up with a lot less inefficiency and litigation and their education is often heavily subsidized by the state or even free.
The problem is that NP’s and PA’s aren’t able and aren’t going to want to pick up the slack. The primary care shortage is much too large for even the growing number of mid-levels to abate. And NP’s and PA’s follow the money, as well. PA’s are already leaving primary care in droves. KevinMD has a nice summary here:
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/12/why-nurse-practitioners-and-physician.html
I’m all for restructuring the health care system. But the primary care shortage is here now, and it needs aggressive action if it’s to be kept from getting worse.