Over the past three decades, medical school tuition has quadrupled. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates the cost to attend a public medical school is more than $240,000 and as much as $322,000 for four years at a private medical school – an amount which is more or less equivalent to the cost of a family home.
Only 6% of physicians practice in rural areas, yet they serve 16% of the population. Kitsap County has 443 physicians, equivalent to 2.4% of the state total and is one county experiencing a shortage of primary care physicians. Kitsap County falls below the state average in every primary care specialty across the board.
As a pediatrician, watching enforcement of “zero tolerance” on children at our southern border has broken my heart. Every child needs safety and a sense of belonging. It defines who they are and shapes their perception of the world. For a young child, the loss of a parent is so devastating there can be no repair, only salvage of the wreckage.
In the fiscal fight over health care costs, pediatricians are on the chopping block. In hospitals and clinics across the country, pediatricians are being laid off in droves, leaving the clinical burden to mid-level providers, family physicians, and emergency room doctors. These decisions are being made by suits over scrubs, and they are putting patients at risk.
The unforeseen casualty in this story is the pediatric department at MedStar Franklin Square Hospital. On April 3rd, 2018, MedStar abruptly announced all pediatric inpatient care and emergency services were closing, effective April 6th, and all pediatric staff, including eight physicians, were terminated. Sadly, Baltimore County is home to some of the nations’ most vulnerable families, struggling with high rates of drug addiction, domestic violence, and poverty.
Tapeworms represent third parties who have ingratiated themselves into the patient-physician relationship in the interest of the almighty dollar. As the distance has grown between patients and physicians, costs have spiraled out of control. By inviting extra layers of bureaucracy, CMS and other corporations are essentially slapping lipstick on the tapeworm and trying to make CPC look as attractive as Direct Primary Care, but that is an illusion.
This week, I am sharing a podcast with David Introcaso. He invited me on the show after reading a piece of mine written in support of the National Walkout on March 14, 2018.
Just over a year ago, I met Dr. Shulkin in his office while working in Washington DC on behalf of independent physicians. A highly esteemed colleague of mine previously worked at the same hospital with Dr. Shulkin and scheduled a meeting to discuss healthcare reform. My colleague asked for a “wing woman” and I happily tagged along. Knowing their shared history, an exchange of pleasantries seemed far more likely than the haranguing with insults that ensued. In my opinion, Dr. Shulkin was one of the most pompous men I have ever encountered.
Our Government should be Of the people, By the people and For the people – not Of Target, By Amazon, and For Berkshire Hathaway. Being seen by a midlevel provider at a big box retailer cannot save money. Lawmakers sponsoring H.R 5138 are doing the nation a grave disservice by sponsoring this atrocious legislation.
Why has so little changed in almost 20 years since Columbine? I don’t know. Why has so little changed since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook where 20 children and 6 adults were gunned down in cold blood? I cannot understand. Why has the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida galvanized the nation? Because now, it is our innocent children leading the fight for meaningful change.