Remember your personal physician? He or she may not be yours much longer. And even if they are still your doctor, the odds are they are not really working for you. Soon, most doctors will have abandoned their private practices and become employees of hospitals, multihospital affiliations, or the Government. Only 35% of doctors currently describe themselves as independent, compared with 62% in 2008. This trend will undoubtedly continue; a doctor graduating from medical school today has little or no chance of starting their own solo practice. How did this happen, and why does it threaten patients?
The main culprits are the Government, insurance companies, and large hospital systems. As a result of the Obamacare payment provisions, the Government essentially encourages hospitals to “own” doctors. With inscrutable logic, the Government pays more for the exact same medical procedure or doctor’s visit if it is done in a hospital clinic rather than in an independent doctor’s office. This is a strong incentive for hospitals to buy physicians and their practices, thereby controlling payment and referral sources. Doctors may have no alternative but to take salaried hospital positions if their practices disband.