By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How the AMA Has Undermined Primary Care
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > How the AMA Has Undermined Primary Care
Health Reform

How the AMA Has Undermined Primary Care

JohnCGoodman
JohnCGoodman
Share
2 Min Read
SHARE

While, in other developed nations, 70-80 percent of all physicians are generalists and 20-30 percent are specialists, in America the ratio is reversed, the result of a payment system, the Resource-based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS), that was originally intended to account for and financially lessen the differences between specialties. Instead, RBRVS has evolved to reward expensive care and penalize proactive management, even though the data are unequivocal that higher percentages of primary care within a community results in healthier, lower cost populations…

In a June 2007 Annals of Internal Medicine article…Bodenheimer et al, provide this example:

Under the RBRVS system, the 2005 Medicare fee for a typical 25- to 30-minute office visit to a primary care physician in Chicago was $89.64 for a patient with a complex medical condition…. The 2005 Medicare fee was $226.63 for a gastroenterologist in the outpatient department of a Chicago hospital performing a colonoscopy … which is of similar duration to the office visit. Colonoscopy performed in a private office in Chicago, which differs from the hospital setting because the gastroenterologist pays for equipment and nursing time, would cost $422.90…

Under the auspices of the AMA and in alliance with CMS [RBRVS codes] appear to have played a direct role in the current primary care crisis by driving policy that financially favored specialty care at the expense of primary care.

More Read

healthcare data release
Data Alone Does Not Make Health Care Pricing Meaningful
Massachusetts Hospitals Gain Under ObamaCare
Digital Health’s Future Calls for New Regulatory Vision
GOP’s Best Bet on Health Care: Stick With the Slogans
Berwick Critical of Obama’s Approach to Medicare Spending
TAGGED:health care reformprimary care
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries: What Families Need to Know
Policy & Law
October 10, 2025
Remote Monitoring touchpoints
Remote Monitoring Touchpoints Patients Will Actually Follow
Technology
October 9, 2025
dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025

You Might also Like

ACA
BusinessHealth ReformPolicy & Law

5 Things You Need to Know About ACA in 2015

December 10, 2014

Vermont Moves Closer to Single Payer Delivery

March 25, 2011

Medicare Advantage Premiums

March 21, 2011

Health Business TV: Obamacare Premiums (VIDEO)

June 22, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?