And this time, I don’t think Putin is going anywhere. As they say, history doesn’t repeat, but sometimes it rhymes.

Will consumer-oriented health companies make doctors obsolete?

According to recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical and dental professions now account for 14 of the 15 highest paid occupations in the United States (measured in terms of annual income). Put another way, of nearly 800 occupations surveyed, doctors and dentists were at the top of the list.

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Scott Gottlieb, MD a former senior adviser to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) warns that a new ruling by CMS will force people to get open-heart surgeries that might have been avoidable.

Of the many factors that make improving the health system difficult, few challenges are greater than the misty-eyed recollection – often from genuinely distinguished practitioners – of how great things used to be.  Doctors were highly regarded authority figures, pure and beloved, while patients were meek and grateful in the presence of such brilliance and expertise.

Changes to Medicare will give the federal government control over surgical decisions.

One key to good health and a successful health care system for all is a sufficient pool of quality physicians.