A labor day warning

• Main Author: Robbins RA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2018-09-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: Labor Day; competition; Maricopa County Medical Society; hospital employed; Department of Veterans Affairs; salary increase; job satisfaction; Medicare; hospital employee; independent practitioner
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/editorials/2018/9/3/a-labor-day-warning.html

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. Today is Labor Day, a public holiday honoring the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. Though this holiday dates back to the end of the nineteenth century, the concept of organized labor is under increasing attack. While many of the physician and nurse readers may think that “labor” does not apply to them, after all they are professionals, management would likely disagree. In Arizona v. Maricopa County Medical Society in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that when physicians negotiate collectively with insurers about fees, and as a consequence do not compete with one another, such negotiations represent a horizontal agreement among competitors to fix prices (1). This was based on the concept of physicians being independent from hospitals or healthcare systems. However, more physicians are now hospital employed which has been in no small part due …