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Reexamining The Physician's Duty Of Care In Response To Medicare's Prospective Payment System, Andrea Jean Lairson

Washington Law Review

In Wickline, the California Court of Appeals indicated that the physician's standard of care is unchanged by pressures from cost containment programs. While recognizing the desirability of controlling health care costs, this Comment argues that physicians who care for Medicare patients should not be held to a lower standard of care than those who care for patients not covered by Medicare. Indeed, physicians should be required to take reasonable steps to ensure that their patients will not be harmed by financially-motivated treatment decisions.