I have been a physician for 26 years. I have been a fierce patient advocate throughout my entire career. It never occurred to me that physicians do not have the same rights of citizenship that the very patients I fight for do. I always thought I lived in a democracy. Medicine is not what it used to be. Articles relentlessly speak of physician burnout as though we are responsible for …
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I had a great day in the office today. Not that I came up with any brilliant diagnosis nor cured anyone. I was able to just be a physician. No time wasted on the phone with insurance companies. No prior authorizations to do. It was a reminder of how much I love my job. I love my actual job — the one I trained for — being a physician. Listening …
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I graduated medical school in 1995. I believe in a single-payer health system. I am about championing for my patients. I left a salaried position in academic medicine to go an underserved area of rural Maine and start a practice. This is the letter I wrote to the CEO of a large health insurance company recently.
Dear Mr. CEO,
My name is Cathleen Greenberg London. I am a family medicine physician who …
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I am employed by a hospital, and have health insurance through my job. The coverage is comprehensive, and the cost has an employer contribution and employee contribution. I still get confused (though I have the hospital’s own plan) about what is covered and what is not. I can only imagine how hard it must be for my patients.
The prescription plan that comes with this insurance is straight forward: $40 for …
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