The doctors needed the lower costs that consolidation brings. And they needed size to be able to bargain effectively with the giant managed care organizations. The change also radically altered physicians' mindset. L. Maximilian Buja, dean of the medical school at the University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, says many veteran physicians want to make as much money as quickly as they can and retire. They are that unhappy with the way managed care has changed their lives.
Medical students seem reconciled to the new order.
The downside is that many regard practicing medicine as just a job. They also have accepted the notion that while they will be well-paid, medicine won't be as lucrative as in the past. Medical costs going up again However, medical costs are rising again. In each of the past two years, they increased 7.5 percent. This year, a 9.7 percent jump is expected.