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mike_c

(36,636 posts)
10. another side of this issue
Mon Jul 21, 2025, 02:42 PM
Monday

My GP physician told me about ten years ago that the family medical practice he was part of was in dire financial straits. It's a rural practice that experienced a perfect storm of retirements and docs moving to more urban clinics. It was one of the largest primary care offices in our rural county. My doctor had emptied out his retirement funds to keep the practice afloat. They were trying to stay above water long enough to finish negotiations with the rural (for profit) hospital to absorb them into its network of providers. He and everyone else working there ultimately became employees of the hospital, which kept that practice open. A couple years later my second cardiologist's office was likewise saved by the hospital. My first cardiologist simply closed his doors and moved away. Keeping those GP offices open can be a lifeline for rural practices already struggling in our for profit wealth care system.

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