Quote to Note: Scott Gottlieb, MD "ObamaCare’s Threat to Private Practice: The Payment System Is Forcing Doctors to Sell Out to Hospitals. The Trend, and the Law, Will Be Unstoppable Without Reform." Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2014

“Individual, provider-owned medical practices also deserve equal footing when it comes to reimbursement. Right now, Medicare is paying much more for many procedures when performed in a hospital outpatient clinic rather than an independently owned medical office. Things as common as heart scans ($749 versus $503), colonoscopies ($876 versus $402) and even a 15-minute doctor visit ($124 versus $70) all pay more when done by a hospital-based doctor than a privately owned medical office. Obama officials know that hospitals are buying doctor practices to take advantage of this difference. But they favor hospital ownership of doctors and see it as a small cost to pay to drive that migration.”