Comments on: Ezra Klein on the primary care shortage http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/ezra-klein-on-primary-care-shortage.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:59:44 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: KipEsquire http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/ezra-klein-on-primary-care-shortage.html/comment-page-1#comment-84971 KipEsquire Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:22:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/04/ezra-klein-on-the-primary-care-shortage.html#comment-84971 <i>But it could be attractive because it erases your medical debt (say in return for three years of practicing in an underserved community), you get more control over your hours, and you get to spend real time with patients."</i><br/><br/>1. "Underserved" -- determined by whom and by what standard? Oh right -- by politicians and bureaucrats and by whatever partisan winds happen to blowing at the moment.<br/><br/>2. And if we can't steer enough physicians into this utopian "Americorps, M.D." fantasy -- what then?<br/><br/>I remain convinced that the end game for healthcare socialists like Klein is enslaving physicians by imposing mandatory "public service" requirements as a condition for keeping one's medical license. They just don't have the intellectual honesty to say as much -- yet. So they settle for baby steps like this that would inch us toward that ultimate goal. But it could be attractive because it erases your medical debt (say in return for three years of practicing in an underserved community), you get more control over your hours, and you get to spend real time with patients.”

1. “Underserved” — determined by whom and by what standard? Oh right — by politicians and bureaucrats and by whatever partisan winds happen to blowing at the moment.

2. And if we can’t steer enough physicians into this utopian “Americorps, M.D.” fantasy — what then?

I remain convinced that the end game for healthcare socialists like Klein is enslaving physicians by imposing mandatory “public service” requirements as a condition for keeping one’s medical license. They just don’t have the intellectual honesty to say as much — yet. So they settle for baby steps like this that would inch us toward that ultimate goal.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/04/ezra-klein-on-primary-care-shortage.html/comment-page-1#comment-84968 Anonymous Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:31:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/04/ezra-klein-on-the-primary-care-shortage.html#comment-84968 Sounds good to me. Most loan repayment programs pay about $25K a year for your service. It would take forever to payback private med school loans with that amount of money. Full debt payment for 3 years of service would be great. Sounds good to me. Most loan repayment programs pay about $25K a year for your service. It would take forever to payback private med school loans with that amount of money. Full debt payment for 3 years of service would be great.

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