Here are seven things to know:
1. Less than one-third of doctors in the United States presently work in primary care.
2. Healthcare professionals seek to persuade medical students to become primary care physicians before the system’s incentives push them in a different direction.
3. A 2015 Medscape survey reported the average salary for primary physicians is approximately $195,000. This figure is nearly half of what specialists make each year.
4. Many medical students didn’t attend school for financial incentives, but need to take higher paying positions to repay loans.
5. Some medical schools have criticized primary care in a “hidden curriculum.”
6. The Affordable Care Act raised Medicare and Medicaid’s rates for primary care visits. These rates are set to expire this year.
7. Advocates for primary care are seeking help from leaders and the federal government, particularly in equalizing the financial incentives between primary care and specialties.
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