Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

This is a very well-written and -considered article re. costs of medical care in the U.S. The author, a surgeon, takes time to build up the scenario of why some areas of the US are more expensive than others, but it's fascinating throughout, and REALLY interesting at page 6/7 ...

When you look across the spectrum from Grand Junction to McAllen—and the almost threefold difference in the costs of care—you come to realize that we are witnessing a battle for the soul of American medicine. Somewhere in the United States at this moment, a patient with chest pain, or a tumor, or a cough is seeing a doctor. And the damning question we have to ask is whether the doctor is set up to meet the needs of the patient, first and foremost, or to maximize revenue.

I find it particularly interesting how the lower-cost areas actually seem to provide BETTER care, and the steps doctors in those areas have taken to ensure that this is the case.

Well worth reading.