Physician payment in Canada, Germany, and the United States.
As the debate about reforming the U.S. health care system intensifies, interest has focused on three alternative delivery systems: the predominantly private-sector model in the United States, the provincial-government health insurance model of Canada, and the social insurance model of Germany. The organization of physician payment is an important part of all these health care systems. To maintain an affordable system that delivers high-quality care, payment to physicians must be sufficient to attract and maintain an able group of doctors, while not exceeding an amount that the country can afford. In this article, these three systems will be examined, and an attempt will be made to apply the lessons learned from Germany and Canada to the direction of physician payment reform in the United States.
General Electric Co., Lynn, MA.
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Galvin
D002170:Canada; D003625:Data Collection; D005858:Germany; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007357:Insurance, Physician Services / Q000191:economics*; D016345:Medicare Part B; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D014481:United States