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April 13, 2010

ObamaCare Collateral Effects: A Doctor Shortage

Posted by The MaryHunter at April 13, 2010 3:00 PM

ObamaCare will expand considerably the demand for health care, that's a given. Already, consumers are confused, wondering where they can go sign up for their free doctor appointments. This increase in demand follows imposition of socialized medicine like night follows day and will have the effect of reducing the supply of doctors, as anyone with an elementary understanding of economics would understand.

Experts warn there won't be enough doctors to treat the millions of people newly insured under the law. At current graduation and training rates, the nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors in the next 15 years, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

That shortfall is predicted despite a push by teaching hospitals and medical schools to boost the number of U.S. doctors, which now totals about 954,000.

Primary-care physicians -- general practitioners, internists, family physicians and pediatricians -- will be in greatest demand. But polls show there is already reluctance among current physicians to even deal with ObamaCare; 46% would strongly consider leaving medicine. Says the WSJ article, these key areas of general practice have already been hit hard.

The U.S. has 352,908 primary-care doctors now, and the college association estimates that 45,000 more will be needed by 2020. But the number of medical-school students entering family medicine fell more than a quarter between 2002 and 2007.

A shortage of primary-care and other physicians could mean more-limited access to health care and longer wait times for patients.

And, now that the government has taken over the student loan industry, you can rest assured that any medical students seeking government-backed loans will become cogs in the ObamaCare machine, with little freedom to choose what specialty they practice and where. Talk about conditions that would suck the wind out of any but the most determined budding young pre-meds out there and sack our nation with a Canada-style doctor shortage.

There was never a shortage of available care under the old system. The lies that spurred ObamaCare's passage will guarantee shortages unless this abomination is either repealed or replaced. Good luck with that, America.