701EV
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This was in the Wall Street Journal on 8/21/12
John Goodman's prescient article "Why the Doctor Can't See You" (op-ed, Aug. 15) is absolutely on target. Here in Massachusetts, as he notes, we have nearly universal coverage. While many physicians support the principle of health care for all, many don't participate in Commonwealth Care, and thus there is a shortage of doctors and long waits for appointments. Why won't they participate? It is time as well as money. The reimbursements are low, but many physicians are willing to accept some patients for lower fees. But the paperwork is a bureaucratic nightmare. Physicians simply can't afford both to accept the low reimbursements and then add on the higher administrative costs.
I train psychiatry residents at Massachusetts General Hospital, and I am aware of the staggering student-loan debt that many assume as part of their medical training. Contrary to the image that the public may have of the wealthy doctor, many residents worry that they will never be able to buy a house. In psychiatry, many decide not to accept insurance. These bright and talented young doctors wrestle mightily with this decision because most came to the field desiring to help all kinds of people, not just those able to pay out of pocket. But they also want to provide for their families, and the ever decreasing reimbursements from public and private insurance plans simply make that too difficult.
Eleanor F. Counselman, Ed.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston.
I am living proof of the veracity of John Goodman's position. For years I have tried working within the system, but now our practice has gone belly up and we are hospital employees. There is also a hidden cost to society. I have two very bright daughters. Both considered studying medicine, but they are directing their considerable talents elsewhere now that they have seen the writing on the wall
David Stinson, M.D.
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
John Goodman's prescient article "Why the Doctor Can't See You" (op-ed, Aug. 15) is absolutely on target. Here in Massachusetts, as he notes, we have nearly universal coverage. While many physicians support the principle of health care for all, many don't participate in Commonwealth Care, and thus there is a shortage of doctors and long waits for appointments. Why won't they participate? It is time as well as money. The reimbursements are low, but many physicians are willing to accept some patients for lower fees. But the paperwork is a bureaucratic nightmare. Physicians simply can't afford both to accept the low reimbursements and then add on the higher administrative costs.
I train psychiatry residents at Massachusetts General Hospital, and I am aware of the staggering student-loan debt that many assume as part of their medical training. Contrary to the image that the public may have of the wealthy doctor, many residents worry that they will never be able to buy a house. In psychiatry, many decide not to accept insurance. These bright and talented young doctors wrestle mightily with this decision because most came to the field desiring to help all kinds of people, not just those able to pay out of pocket. But they also want to provide for their families, and the ever decreasing reimbursements from public and private insurance plans simply make that too difficult.
Eleanor F. Counselman, Ed.D.
Harvard Medical School
Boston.
I am living proof of the veracity of John Goodman's position. For years I have tried working within the system, but now our practice has gone belly up and we are hospital employees. There is also a hidden cost to society. I have two very bright daughters. Both considered studying medicine, but they are directing their considerable talents elsewhere now that they have seen the writing on the wall
David Stinson, M.D.
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
