Concierge medicine for the masses could succeed where insurance-based health care fails

Concierge medicine for the masses -- in which patients pay an annual fee or retainer directly to their physicians -- could succeed where insurance-based health care fails, former "New York Times" business reporter Lawrence Fisher argues in the latest "Milken Institute Review."

"Could there be a low-cost, high-quality fix for much of what ails American health care, one that requires no new legislation and no additional taxes?" Fisher asks. He says "direct primary care" could boost the number of family practitioners and help restore the patient-doctor relationship.

Also in this issue:

-- David Andrews of Scripps College examines the delicate balance of interests behind China's on-again, off-again support for the dollar. -- George Feiger, the CEO of Contango Capital Advisors, makes the argument that in global finance, smaller is better. -- Barry Eichengreen of the University of California at Berkeley offers six radical proposals for redesigning the global economy's financial architecture. -- Economists Roger Sedjo of Resources for the Future and Brent Sohngen of Ohio State University examine the dark side of Washington's initiatives to make ethanol fuel from cellulose. -- Edward Hugh, a Barcelona-based economist, weighs the impact of the global recession on transitioning economies of Eastern Europe. -- Jagadeesh Gokhale and Peter Van Doren, senior fellows at the Cato Institute, warn that financial reform may bring regulation that stifles innovation and doesn't lead to long-term recovery. -- G. Pascal Zachary of the University of California at Berkeley looks at the consequences of the Internet revolution and information overload in a time of financial crisis.

Also included: an excerpt from Justin Fox's latest book, "The Myth of the Rational Market"; an update on translational research from the Milken Institute's FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions; and a charticle that questions the future of the dollar as a reserve currency.

"The Milken Institute Review" is sent quarterly to leading business and financial executives, senior policymakers and journalists. Its editor is Peter Passell, a former economics columnist for "The New York Times."

SOURCE: Milken Institute