Nurse practicioners threaten physicians in Illinois and Kentucky

Feeling threatened by the proliferation of retail health clinics staffed by nurse practitioners, the nation's largest doctors group is pushing this week for increased scrutiny of the clinics and the nurse practitioners who staff them.Basically, the American Medical Association has a problem with caregivers like Laura Maxwell.Maxwell, a 25-year-old licensed nurse practitioner with a master's degree, checks coughs, gives vaccinations and dispenses other routine medical care at The Little Clinic in a Kroger grocery store in Louisville."We see lots of minor illnesses like colds, sore throats, and write a lot of prescriptions, typically for viruses," said Maxwell, who views her clinic as a complement to a physician's care. "It's a place they can go when the doctor's office is closed."

The big problem is that the nurse practicioners are making medical care affordable, and accessible for people, and that is cutting into the physicians bottom line.

One physician said, "If I can't charge the insurance company $300 bucks for the flu to see someone five minutes it hurts my lifestyle. A nurse practicioner charges far less and does basically the same things for a minor illness, and if they are independent that means I am not getting a cut of the action. We want to control the nurse practicioners so we can control prices and limit accesibilty for patients. Without control we make a lot less money. I went to medical school, nurse practicioners did not, why should they threaten my livelihood after I actually went the full road and got an education? Cold, and flu are the bread and butter of our practice, a person comes in, I spend four-five minutes, I write a prescription and get on to the next guy, it sounds very cold, but that is the reality of paying the bills, maintaining my lifestyle, and keeping the lights on. We practice assembly line medicine, the more people we see during the day the more it contributes to the bottom line. It's harsh, but that is the reality of medicine today, you need to pay the bills, and volume pays the bills, you chip into it, and you have a problem. sure, they are supervised by a physician, but they just come into review charts, it isn't the same as seeing a doctor. I can identify plenty of things that people never suspect they have simply by seeing them in person, you can't get that kind of care and experience from a nurse practicioner."

Insurance companies on the other hand are all for reducing cost, that increases profits, and lowers rates for the consumers, they will continue to strongly support the use of nurse practicioners for minor illnesses.

John Berkowitz of Medequote comments, "You need to cut costs somewhere to make sure health insurance stays affordable. One thing UniCare did this year was introduce the Sound Health Plan to consumers in Illinois, and Texas. It was the first time a plan was designed for a specific age group, and also a solution to the problem of young uninsured's. The cost ranges from $61- $114 per month if depending on where you live, and how old you are. The plan is a big hit with the single young adults aged 18-29 it was developed for. Suprisingly enough, healthy people into their 50's have been enrolling into the plan because of the low price point."

The plans are available at www.unicaresoundplans.com . The plan has unlimited doctor visits, so you can see whoever you choose within the network. The Sound health plan for UniCare is a winner that will bring a lot of people back into the healthcare system. The more people that participate the more stable rates will become.