It’s shocking to see the figures in black and white.

Our country still spends so little on primary care relative to other healthcare providers. That’s even though we know primary care can be the most valuable setting for tending to a patient’s health.

The latest estimates, published in JAMA this month, show that in 2019 just 7% of medical spending went to primary care visits. If you isolate patients of Medicare age, only 5% of spending ends up in the hands of their PCP. These are the patients who need attentive primary care the most.

Taken as a group, seniors represent our most vulnerable and most costly patients. In value-based care, we’re asking primary care to assume accountability for both the cost and effectiveness of their care while 20x a year is spent elsewhere.

Primary care is worth so much more.

Almost daily, I see unnecessary hospitalizations avoided by better care management and coordination. It takes work, time and staff, which is why Wellvana acts on behalf of our busy independent providers and their practices. But the anecdotes are becoming undeniable.

A few weeks ago, a remote Wellvana nurse worked with a patient refusing to go see her PCP even though her blood sugar was regularly spiking into the 300s. It took weeks of calls and creatively looping in another family member to offer encouragement and assistance. The patient is stable now. Almost certainly, she was bound for the ER — or worse.

Our care coordinators do the hard job of wrangling patients for an annual wellness visit because we know these preventative screenings can keep them out of the hospital. They also educate patients who've been discharged from the hospital about the importance of seeing their PCP right away, which we know will help prevent readmission and keep them healthier.

And I see our partner PCPs going deeper with their patients and making sure they don’t get stuck bouncing from specialist to specialist. They embrace being the quarterback for their patients’ care. And it makes all the difference.

Value-based care rightfully elevates the role of PCPs, but this isn’t just about finding efficiency. It’s about being more effective. When we invest in primary care, we invest in healthier communities for everyone.