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. 2009 Sep-Oct;28(5):1327-35.
doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.1327.

Would having more primary care doctors cut health spending growth?

Michael E Chernew  1 , Lindsay Sabik, Amitabh Chandra, Joseph P Newhouse
Affiliations

Would having more primary care doctors cut health spending growth?

Michael E Chernew et al. Health Aff (Millwood). 2009 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Spending on health care in markets with a larger percentage of primary care physicians (PCPs) is lower at any point in time than is true in other markets. The relationship between physician workforce composition and the rate of spending growth is less clear. This analysis of market-level Medicare spending data between 1995 and 2005 reveals that the proportion of PCPs is not associated with spending growth. Additional research is needed before the potential causal impact of PCPs can be fully assessed. However, these findings suggest that changes in the composition of the physician workforce will not be sufficient to address spending growth.

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Figures

EXHIBIT 1
EXHIBIT 1
Level Of Spending Versus Growth In Spending SOURCE: Author’s analysis.
EXHIBIT 3
EXHIBIT 3
Mean Unadjusted Average Medicare Reimbursements Per Beneficiary, By Quartile Of Relative Primary Care Physician Supply In 1995 SOURCE: Author’s calculations using data from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the Area Resource File.
EXHIBIT 4
EXHIBIT 4
Mean Unadjusted Average Annual Percentage Growth (1995–2005) In Health Spending, By Quartile Of Relative Primary Care Physician Supply In 1995 SOURCE: Author’s calculations using data from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the Area Resource File.
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References

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