This article is infuriating. Ok, so Medicare paid hospitals $106k-182k to train doctors in 2015… and as someone who graduated from residency in 2014, we were making $40k-55k. So the hospitals were pocketing 60-75% of the payments, and doctors are supposed to feel grateful?
The solution is obvious: if you want psychiatrists to take Medicare, pay them. CMS has already shifted payments toward primary care because they know it’s necessary, but are dragging ass on psychiatry. They could easily fix the shortage of psychiatric services for low income patients by actually incentivizing it, if they actually wanted to.
Replace the “social contract” with an actual contract and you’ll see results.