MacGyver It

You have got to hand it to Massachusetts. They keep trying to extend the life of their Commonwealth Connector plan in order to attain universal coverage. Their latest step is to pump more money into it via a waiver. Who says money can't fix everything? With all the new patients jumping on board, many of whom won't be expected to pay, something had to be done. There is one little glitch, however. As stated as an aside in the last sentence in the article (and many times before here the Placebo Gazette), it would be nice if there were enough primary care docs to take care of these patients. Unfortunately, there isn't. I could give reasons why (pay, hours, loans) but who really cares? My hunch is that Massachusetts has a plan in play to do an end run around family docs and internists. They are going to try and use some chewing gum, a pencil eraser, ammonia and a paper clip in order to create a system where we are no longer needed. Instead of working to recruit more doctors to the state, my hunch is that they will MacGyver and patch together PAs and NPs to replace us. The writing is on the wall and in this blog.