The coming closure of the Virginia Mason Clinic in Sequim has health care officials concerned about the future of primary care on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Historically low rates for Medicare reimbursement in Washington state and a declining economy could mean tough times for the 100 or so doctors practicing in Clallam County, Mike Glenn, Olympic Medical Center administrator, said Wednesday.
“Because of economic prosperity, we’ve managed to outrun this,” Glenn said. “But the whole system is going to face some significant challenges.”
Glenn said an aging baby-boomer population as well as declining federal reimbursements to Washington doctors that he calls “blatantly unfair” are putting physicians in “a very precarious position.”
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