Primary Care Doctors Being Pushed To Brink Of Extinction By Mega Mergers And Urgent Care Clinics
The face of the health care industry is changing, and more people are flocking to quick-fix urgent clinics over hard-to-get-into doctors offices.
The New York Times:
The Disappearing Doctor: How Mega-Mergers Are Changing The Business Of Medical Care
Is the doctor in? In this new medical age of urgent care centers and retail clinics, that’s not a simple question. Nor does it have a simple answer, as primary care doctors become increasingly scarce. “You call the doctor’s office to book an appointment,” said Matt Feit, a 45-year-old screenwriter in Los Angeles who visited an urgent care center eight times last year. “They’re only open Monday through Friday from these hours to those hours, and, generally, they’re not the hours I’m free or I have to take time off from my job. (Abelson and Creswell, 4/7)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
Where Americans Found Jobs: Manufacturing And Health Care
Manufacturers added jobs for an eighth straight month in March, driven mainly by companies that produce durable goods like cars, computers and metal products. Hiring in the sector rose by 22,000 in March and has risen 232,000 over the past year. Health care extended its strong run of gains, adding more than 22,000 jobs in March. The gain was driven by hiring by hospitals, dental clinics and physicians' offices. Professional and business services, which include accounting, advertising and administrative support, added 33,000. (4/6)
The Hill:
Poll: Voters Say Health Care Top Issue In Midterms
Voters rank health care as the top issue heading into this year’s midterm elections, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll released Friday. More registered voters picked health care as the top issue than any other topic when asked to pick their top two issues, the poll found. (Sullivan, 4/6)
The New York Times:
Why Trump’s Tariffs Could Raise The Cost Of A Hip Replacement
Pacemakers and artificial joints. Defibrillators. Dental fillings. Birth-control pills and vaccines. All are made in China, and all could be subject to new tariffs. Dozens of drugs and medical devices are among the Chinese products and ingredients that the Trump administration targeted for a potential 25 percent tariff in a proposal this week. The list includes some products that are in dangerously short supply, like epinephrine, used to treat allergic reactions, and others, like insulin, whose rising prices have driven public outrage in the United States. (Kaplan and Thomas, 4/6)
Bloomberg:
A Rare Loss For U.S. Pharma Lobby Will Cost The Industry Billions
Deep in a budget deal Congress passed earlier this year -- just 118 words in Section 53116, a little before passages on prison reporting data and payment yields for seed cotton -- was a hit to pharmaceutical companies that will cost them billions, and could signal more losses to come. Despite an intense lobbying push, lawmakers changed a Medicare rule, putting manufacturers on the hook for more of seniors’ prescription costs. The companies will have to offer a much more generous discount to beneficiaries who fall into the so-called donut hole coverage gap, marking down retail costs by 70 percent instead of the current 50 percent. (Edney, 4/6)
California Healthline:
A Tale Of Two CT Scanners — One Richer, One Poorer
Benjamin Hynden, a financial adviser in Fort Myers, Fla., hadn’t been feeling well for a few weeks last fall. He’d had pain and discomfort in his abdomen.In October, he finally made an appointment to see his doctor about it. “It wasn’t severe,” he said. “It was just kind of bothersome. It just kind of annoyed me during the day.” The internist, Dr. John Ardesia, checked him out and referred him for a CT scan at a nearby imaging center. The radiologist didn’t see anything wrong on the images, and Ardesia didn’t recommend any treatment. (Kodjak, 4/9)
The New York Times:
Naloxone Stops Opioid Overdoses. How Do You Use It?
The United States surgeon general issued a rare national advisory on Thursday urging more Americans to carry naloxone, a drug used to revive people overdosing on opioids. The last time a surgeon general issued such an urgent warning to the country was in 2005, when Richard H. Carmona advised women not to drink alcohol when pregnant. (Dias and Correal, 4/6)