The law of supply and demand is simple: Pay more for goods and services and the supply will increase.

Today the Medicare fee schedule is what drives how much American physicians are paid for their services. There have been no meaningful increases in the schedule for more than 20 years, not even keeping pace with inflation. As such, physician take-home pay has declined.

Medicine is a market of goods and services. Doctors are quite altruistic but they ultimately respond to market forces just like everybody else. The future of doctor supply in Hawaii and in America does not look good.

Rhoads E. Stevens, M.D.

Hawaii Kai

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