Health insurance is not health care

Despite all the campaign chatter about reducing health care costs by sending folks to the doctor more often for preventive check-ups, mammograms, and prostate screenings, there has been remarkably little said about who will actually do the work of primary care medicine. That’s a shame, because mounting evidence shows that the U.S. faces a severe shortage of the primary care doctors who have historically provided this kind of care, and can do it cost-effectively and efficiently. The American College of Physicians tells us that “primary care is on the verge of collapse,” mostly because of a screwed-up reimbursement system that rewards high-priced specialists.

[From CJR: Where Have All the Doctors Gone?]