Physician Group Chief Backs Governor on Health Reform
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plan to overhaul California's health care system "appears to offer the best option for maximizing the potential of medical groups to increase the availability of comprehensive yet affordable health care for more Californians," Don Crane, CEO of the California Association of Physician Groups, writes in a San Jose Mercury News opinion piece.
Crane maintains that California physician groups should "serve as the cornerstone of the reformed delivery system," arguing that such a structure has helped California achieve the lowest average HMO premiums in the nation for 10 years.
"Only within medical group networks can doctors invest in patient education, preventive medicine and other techniques that result in healthier patients and lower costs so that more people can get the health care they need," Crane writes (Crane, San Jose Mercury News, 11/20).