PKA,
If I could predict what the next few years would bring in the health care system I would be famous and get to go on the Oprah show. IMO, as long as people have a sense of "Entitlement" and maintain the notion that government is there to take care of them then we are doomed. When people opt for a "change" wherein those that work hard and succeed must give up their aquisitions to those who made bad choices but still feel they deserve to have the same, the end of our culture as we know it is near. The only way I see our private health care system can survive is to remove the responsibility from employers and put it back in the hands of the consumers. When consumers are empowered, things happen. When choices are possible, voices are heard. I remember how nice it used to be when there were 3-4 different small banks in my home town. You could call them on the phone with a problem and they worked hard to keep you happy and thereby keep your business. Now, after conglomerating, there are fewer choices and these huge entities do not really care about me or my pittance of a savings account. If health care continues to follow this route (it is already happening with UHC buying out all the small plans and it could only get worse if it were put into the hands of the government) poor service, poor care and poor reimbursement will result.
Personally, I would like to believe that in the near future the same things that happened to Wall Street and the housing industry will happen to the private insurance market...it will bloat itself until it collapses and then the doors will reopen for small, service-oriented companies. But, for them to survive, we must put the power back into the hands of the individuals. They will then make good choices.
I do not envy you younger physicians. However, if I were younger I would look hard at alternative ways to make a living. Right now I am too old to change but too young to retire...stuck on the hamster wheel just trying to grind out another 8-10 years.
Leslie
