Primary care: can it solve employers' health care dilemma?

Employers are beginning to recognize that investing in the primary care foundation of the health care system may help address their problems of rising health care costs and uneven quality. Primary care faces a crisis as a growing number of U.S. medical graduates are avoiding primary care careers because of relatively low reimbursement and an unsatisfying work life. Yet a strong primary care sector has been associated with reduced health care costs and improved quality. Through the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and other efforts, some large employers are engaged in initiatives to strengthen primary care.