Today’s Managing Health Care Cost Indicator is $8.76 billion The Obama Administration announced yesterday that it would halt its “mystery shopper” survey, which would have assessed potential primary care access problems. Under the program, a survey company would have called physician offices three times – posing as a new patient with an urgent problem (coughing up blood) or a routine need (annual physical exam). The mystery shopper survey would have sampled just under 5000 physicians in 9 states, and about 500 of them would have gotten a third call, asking on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services if the office accepted private insurance, public insurance, and self-pay patients. Physicians expressed anger at the proposed mystery shopper survey – likening it to “snooping” and “Big Brother.” One physician said Is this a good use of tax money? Probably not. Everybody with a brain knows we do not have enough doctors. The...