Health Equity: The Only Path Forward for Primary Care

Henry et al. are to be commended for producing a singular, health equity-focused pathway forward for primary care that can inspire current and future generations of primary care physicians to join forces toward enhancing common good for all. Under-resourcing primary care reflects our national neglect for common-sense practices that enhance the common good. Laboratories researching proteins in worms are often better resourced than our local primary care practices.
Combining advocacy for health equity in our communities with advocacy for team-based high-quality primary care is the right pathway forward for us. I want to point out one small, yet impactful error in the article. On page 177, the authors state, "Primary care spending in each state should be increased to 5%, at minimum, similar to other high-income countries to have better health outcomes without the United States' steep total health care spend." I believe the % Spend for Primary Care figure we must achieve is at or above 15% of total health care spend, not 5%. Current spending is around 5-7% and several states like Rhode Island, Oregon and Colorado have begun to grow primary care spending in meaningful ways. https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/InvestingPCLessonsStateB...

I hope this impactful error can be corrected ASAP as I believe this article will be cited by many trying to achieve health equity and payment equity in the realm of primary care across many states!

Respectfully,

Jeremy Fish, MD