From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Doctors for the Rich and Famous. It's a growing business.

I'm Judy Muller, sitting in for Warren Allney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Ted Kennedy worked all his life to get universal health care.

He didn't live to see it.

What we are seeing, the concierge doctor.

This summer's popular TV show Royal Pains, and on a darker note, the death of Michael Jackson,

have cast a spotlight on so-called concierge doctors. Today on To the Point, we'll talk about the rise in private

physicians and the huge decline in the numbers of primary care doctors. What's the impact on

the nation's well-being? On reporter's notebook later on, a look at the first man ever to strike oil 150 years ago today,

ushering in the oil age. First, here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of

KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include

the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. I'm Judy Mueller, sitting in for Warren Allney, back with

To the Point from PRI. The concierge doctor. It's a relatively small but growing practice

aimed at cutting out the middleman and delivering medicine directly to the patient

for a price. Meanwhile, the number of doctors going into family practice has dropped dramatically,

even though health care analysts say GPs are essential as the backbone of an efficient

and accessible national health care system. Coming up, we'll take a look at this disparity.

What would Ted Kennedy have thought?

On reporter's notebook, today marks the 150th anniversary of the first time man struck oil.

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