Opinion: Primary care doctors need more pay, support

As many observers have noted, the federal Affordable Care Act is more about reforming the health insurance system than reforming the health delivery system. To tackle that second part, Dr. Allen Dobson, of Mount Pleasant, recently encouraged federal lawmakers to give more support, including higher pay, to primary care physicians. These frontline doctors – who specialize in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology – are the major providers of preventive care and management of chronic illness. Earlier this month, when Dobson testified before a U.S. Senate committee on primary care and aging, he urged congressional leaders to enact policies that would encourage more doctors to practice family medicine, especially in rural areas.