Primary Care as a Public Utility

As people in the US increasingly struggle to find a primary care clinician, state investments in primary care share common challenges. A primary care common fund could help states overcome these challenges by pooling resources and paying for primary care as a public utility—consistent with the vision of primary care as a common good—without disrupting the rest of the health care system. This approach is supported by precedent and paths toward feasibility.

Corresponding Author: Zirui Song, MD, PhD, Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180A Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (song@hcp.med.harvard.edu).

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