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My Doctor's office called me to have my annual checkup, it took two months to see a PA, if I wanted to see my doctor it would be longer.
Took BP, pulse, listened to my lungs and took a blood sample.
Called me back with my test results, my cholesterol is high but no info on how high (I am usually a point or two above the limit) and the old standard "Avoid processed foods, exercise, blah blah blah."
Probably my last annual as there is really no point in listening to the people that pressured us to get the COVID shot.

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@MikefromTX

You are mostly correct.  

Hospital corporations lobbied Congress ~ 20 years ago to get an additional 30% “facility fee” when any of their employees (doctors, APRN/nurse practitioner, PA/Physician assistant, etc) sees a patient.  This gave hospital corporations the financial leverage to buy out/shut down most private, physician-run practices.  We are now at ~ 75% of doctors working for hospital corporations.  Doctors have lost most of control of the medical system as a result.  Yes, some private practices do still exist, but the writing is on the wall.  Most doctors are simply trying to hang in there.  Many, if they have a spouse that works and has health insurance are retiring early, 59/60/61, to get out from under the control of hospital corporations.  Without the additional “facility fee”, and the financial buffer, it’s very difficult to go out on your own.  My sister is a dermatologist and somehow manages to do it but she spends a lot of time after hours managing her practice.  

An additional problem is medical reimbursements are higher the more invasive the medical interaction.  So primary care, psychiatry, pediatrics, etc don’t get reimbursed as much as surgeons.  This leads to fewer people going into primary care.  The hospital corporations like to hire APRNs and PAs because they are less expensive and then pressure them, on a fixed salary, to see as many patients as possible.  You’re seeing this now even in the ER!

I don’t have time to do a deep dive on this, but I have witnessed the changes since starting my practice in 2001.  You are absolutely correct that our medical system is in a death spiral.  What comes out on the other end is unknown, but it’s not going to be good.  

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Sure, sometimes otherwise healthy people do get sick. But that's not the accusation made by the poster I was responding to.

Regardless, there is no place I'd rather be treated than the United States of America in 2024.

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Guess im an outlier.  I’ve never had a problem with my PCP, getting sent to a back specialist, or having any of my bills paid by insurance.