Health Providers Make Cuts, Changes And Gambles In Face-Off With Economy

News reports this weekend highlight several developments as medical providers respond to changing economic forces, and in some cases, clashes of personality. A 13-year relationship between University of California San Francisco Medical Center and its medical group partner for 13 years, Brown and Toland Physicians, has ended in a “bitter dispute,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

‘Modern’ Patients Help Drive Up Health Care Costs

Patients who request specific medications and procedures, even though they may not need them, help to drive up health care costs, NPR reports: “The fact is that the behavior of patients in our health system has changed dramatically over the past couple of decades.

Primary Care: Health Bills Don’t Address Physician Shortage Concerns

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports on an issue that appears to be given little attention in current health overhaul proposals. “Even as Congress moves to expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans, it’s doing little to ensure there will be enough primary care doctors to meet the expected surge in demand for treatment, experts say” (10/12).

Physician Shortage Worries Rural Communities But Gets Little Attention In Health Bills

Garfield Memorial Hospital in Pomeroy, Wash., has been struggling to make ends meet for years -through patient revenues and property taxes that helped cover a $70,000 roof repair – the Seattle Times reports. Many rural hospitals face similar problems, and in the case of Pomeroy, if the hospital closed, residents would have to travel miles to find other choices.

White House Hosts White-Coated Doctors For Health Reform Pitch

President Obama spoke to a group of doctors in the Rose Garden Monday, the Associated Press reports. “[N]obody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do,” he said (Babington, 10/5).