Op-Ed

Most people over a certain age are familiar with going in for a colonoscopy, a routine method of screening for and preventing colon cancer. What they might not know is that the cost of the procedure can vary wildly depending on where they get it done. If Medicare is picking up the tab, patients might […]

Just minutes before the end of its session last month, the California Legislature green-lit a bill that could spell the end of independent physician practice in the Golden State. That would be disastrous for physicians and patients alike. Gov. Gavin Newsom must veto the bill. Read the full article at San Diego Union-Tribune

As a physician in private practice, I’ve been called a throwback. Most doctors today work for large hospitals or health systems. That’s not my vision, nor do I think it’s the future of medicine. My partners and I see our oncology practice as an example of how to provide patient-focused care built on deeper, more

Hospitals are snapping up physician practices. Between 2019 and 2022, they acquired nearly 5,000 of them. More than half of doctors nationwide now work for hospitals and health systems. My colleagues and I do not want to capitulate to such hospital-driven consolidation, and we’re confident our patients don’t want more care driven into the hospital

Hospitals have been on a shopping spree. In the last two years, they’ve acquired nearly 3,000 physician practices, according to new research from the Physicians Advocacy Institute. Some physicians — myself included — prefer to remain independent. We have found that only in an independent setting can we deliver the kind of patient-centered care that drew

Running an independent physician practice, once the norm for doctors, has become increasingly difficult. The problem isn’t medical. It’s the growing operational and financial burden independent practices face. Read the full article at Colorado Politics

Corporate juggernauts are coming to dominate the U.S. health care system. UnitedHealth now employs 10 percent of all physicians in the United States. Hospitals signed up more than 58,000 new physician employees and acquired nearly 5,000 private practices between 2019 and the end of 2021. Amazon and CVS are investing heavily in adding doctors to

More than 100,000 doctors have left private practice and become employees of hospitals and other corporate entities since 2019. Today, nearly three in four physicians are employees of larger health care entities or other corporations — a record high. Read the full article at STAT News