The current controversy over plans from both Presidential candidates to raise taxes on the top 5 percent of earners won’t hurt just the average Joe; the damage will spread to one of the most necessary of American small businesses: primary care practitioners, says Dr. Steven Knope, a health care reform advocate based in Tucson.
According to ABC News, under Obama’s plan, individuals making more than $200,000 per year, or couples making more than $250,000 per year, would pay higher taxes on income, capital gains, and dividends. McCain’s campaign folds in a similar scenario, but with a longer time span.
In a fiscal environment already unfavorable to doctors -- student loans, startup costs, and deferred income during training -- Dr. Knope wonders why any new doctor would choose a career in primary care.
“In discussing healthcare insurance, the candidates are missing the boat. The Journal of the American Medical Association just announced that only 2 percent of this year’s medical school class will be entering the field of internal medicine. Now is not the time to penalize young doctors further with onerous taxes,” says Knope. “Doctors defer any real income for 10 to 15 years due to their rigorous training. Once they finally start earning a living to pay back those loans, they are hamstrung by excessive taxes.”
In an election season filled with conversation about health care access, Knope is amused by the final irony: “Unless we do something to make conditions more favorable to practicing primary care doctors, insurance is a moot point; there will soon be no more doctors to access.”
STEVEN D. KNOPE, M.D., is a board-certified internist and honors graduate of Cornell Medical College. He is a pioneer in concierge medicine, opening one of the first concierge medicine practices in 2000. He has served as Chief of Medicine, Chief of Internal Medicine, and Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Carondelet Medical System in Tucson. He is a nationally recognized expert on health, fitness, and nutrition, as well as an accomplished athlete who holds a third degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and has completed four Ironman triathlons. His newest book, “Concierge Medicine: A New System to Get the Best Healthcare,”
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