HEALTHCARE
I was born and raised in our beautiful state. I was educated and trained in Boston and Philadelphia. I came back to RI for all of the wonderful things our state has to offer: The beautiful coastline. The colorful seasons. Our great sports teams – congratulations, Celtics! The truly amazing food. And for me personally, the privilege to be close to my and my wife’s families. I have been an attending orthopedic surgeon here for almost 17 years. I do love it here. I enjoy treating my patients every day. I also feel that our state has many talented doctors, nurses, midlevel providers, therapists, etc. My family has had some medical issues this year, and my opinion on our talented health care providers was reinforced again by the compassionate and second-to-none care that they received. But I am concerned for our future.
Becker’s annually publishes data regarding the best states to work as a health care provider every year.
For physicians, Rhode Island is the second worst state to work. Hawaii has the “honor” of last place. PA salary is in the bottom 11 across the country.
But we are in the top 5 states for healthcare access and healthcare overall.
To me, these stats prove the talent and passion providers in this state display each and every day is top notch. Now, there are many other variables that can go into opinions about where we work, but over the last decade or so, we have experienced local hospitals closing and other healthcare entities merge or attempt to merge. Hospitals and healthcare facilities merge to “improve care." However, the truth is that it is done to save cost, because most hospitals or hospital systems are in the red. Some of you may recall Memorial Hospital closed. CharterCare, Lifespan, and Care New England are all struggling financially. Recently, see Steward in Massachusetts.
The reason I am writing this blog is because of the reimbursement challenges all those in this state's healthcare industry face. We Rhode Islanders deserve better. We have lost many primary care doctors to retirement and burnout. It is difficult for us to recruit any physician – primary care or specialist – to this state because the reimbursement is so low compared to the rest of the country, including our neighbors in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Has anyone noticed how difficult it is and how long it takes to find a new primary care physician in this state? I am hoping my PCP doesn’t retire anytime soon. We are struggling to recruit PAs, nurses, radiology technologists, and therapists to this state because of better compensation packages of CT and MA. Unless there is a reason to be here – grew up here or spouse/partner did – it is unlikely that healthcare providers will come to Little Rhody.
Many years ago in RI, the Office of the Health Commissioner was established – OHIC. One of their purposes was to put a ceiling on healthcare premiums. Fantastic idea and I am all for it. However, it has not worked out. Inflation is real and when things do not keep up with inflation, one works harder for less. This situation is what is happening in RI healthcare. I mentioned that I am concerned for our future. What I mean by this is when doctors and nurses retire, and there are not many or not many high quality (younger) caring individuals to take their places, we will not be in the top 5 in the country for access and overall healthcare. There is a bill in the RI Congress to try to change this. It is 2024-S 2722 and can be found here.
Better reimbursement for all services allows us healthcare providers to deliver better services to our patients. Bringing well trained physicians to our state is important. Allowing us to staff urgent cares and having beds in the hospitals is crucial. Preventing burnout is critical. Giving all of our patients the appropriate amount of time during the visits is essential.
I am not sure this bill is the answer, but the conversation has to be started so we can draw talented primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals to our state. I invite you to take a peek and maybe call your state senator or representative.
Enjoy your summer.
