Primary Care Shows Strong Performance Yet Remains Miscast as Health Crisis Solution

The latest MedPAC report to Congress highlights that primary-care delivery in the United States is performing well by several measures. Nearly all Medicare beneficiaries have a designated primary-care provider and most can see that provider within two weeks, with even shorter waits in rural areas.

Evaluation and management services are on the rise and compensation for primary-care physicians is growing faster than for other specialties. These trends run counter to the common belief that simply increasing primary-care funding will resolve the nation’s health challenges.

The authors point out that while life expectancy and health-care spending often dominate discussions, life expectancy is a blunt metric and higher spending does not automatically translate into better outcomes. They argue that solving the broader health crisis will require addressing factors beyond primary-care capacity alone.