about managed care and its ramifications, or about the
state of government-supported health care programs,
aren't too relevant here; neither, sadly, are yours. The
fact is that for many if not most people these days, these
programs are a reality which means that getting the best
care from your physician or other health care provider
means knowing a bit about how the system works and
about how you can work well within the system.
receives has decreased. While few physicians are on
the welfare lines, we are having to look more carefully
than ever before at our bottom line and many of us
are getting very frustrated (early retirement among
physi-cians is increasing exponentially). Thus, one of
the important criteria physicians use in deciding which