PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell unveiled a plan Thursday to control healthcare costs and increase access.
The largest cost savings will come from enabling healthcare professions who are not doctors to provide a larger array of services.
Currently, state law prevents providers like nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, pharmacists and dental hygienists from providing many services -- even though they are trained to do so, Rendell said.
Removing those legal barriers will save money because most of those healthcare professionals are paid much less than physicians.
The plan also creates incentives for doctors' offices to provide services on evenings and weekends, reducing the need for expensive emergency room visits in a state with above-average emergency room use.
Other provisions of the plan would tackle racial disparities by increasing the diversity of the health workforce, and target medical errors.
