The Doctor Shortage Isn’t Just a Lack of Doctors

[AquaAthena]

April 1st, 2010 10:38 AM Eastern

by Dr. Marc Siegel

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges there will be a 160,000 doctor shortage by 2025 now that health reform has passed (there would have been 120,000 if it hadn’t). The American Academy of Family Physicians predicts we will be 40,000 primary care doctors short over next 10 years.

BUT this isn’t the whole story.

There will be a RELATIVE doctor shortage in every doctor’s office in the country, as waiting lines grow longer, and more and more doctors drop insurance because they can’t afford to pay their expenses. Even if you are one of the lucky 16 million with a new Medicaid card, you will soon find that more than 50 percent of doctors don’t take it and the networks are drying up.

If you are a senior, you may find less and less doctors taking Medicare, especially as fewer services are approved, and reimbursements to doctors (especially specialists) continue to decline.

The kind of insurance that is being promoted and mandated by the health reform bill is too easy to overuse, clogging up doctor’s offices and leading to more and more often unnecessary tests and procedures ordered by doctors who fear malpractice (and are desperate for tort reform).

Much more on this @: The Doctor Shortage Isn’t Just a Lack of Doctors FOX News Health Blog FOXNews.com

 

[Truthmatters]

I think there is going to be a dr shortage even if nothing had been done.

That is why the pell grants part was important.

There are really good benifits that will be included in this bill for seniors though.

 

[boedicca]

ObamaCare will make the shortage worse. It's just price controls, and many people will choose alternate careers which are not so regulated by the government.

 

[Truthmatters]

The reasons people are not going into medicine is the cost of Schooling

 

[del]

The reasons people are not going into medicine is the cost of Schooling

and the cost of insurance and the fact that the govt is allegedly going to reduce medicare payments by 20%, although anyone with half a brain (so this includes you) knows that that ain't gonna happen.

 

[chanel]

And malpractice insurance rates. But Obamacare takes care of that, right truth? Oh wait...

 

[Truthmatters]

New Health Care Law Has Benefits for Seniors - ABC News

Here is proof of the help for seniors I talked about


Last month's health care law contained some benefits for the nation's older population. It provided long-term care options to allow more seniors to stay in their current homes rather than seek institutionalized care, and called for more publicly available information about nursing homes.

Most seniors prefer to stay where they are than move into assisted living or a nursing home. AARP surveys show that roughly nine out of 10 senior adults prefer to "age in place." But, in many cases, health issues force a senior to seek out a facility where they receive individualized, round-the-clock care.

 

[boedicca]

Promising things for which are paid for by someone else is pandering.

Just sayin'.

 

[Truthmatters]

When they chose want to major in many realize that med school is very expensive to pay for and leaves you in debt for years before you can turn a good profit

 

[AllieBaba]

The reasons people are not going into medicine is the cost of Schooling

You can't get pell grants for medical school.

Aside from that, medical schools are full up, and most people who apply can't get in. It isn't a matter of MONEY. It's a matter of the schools letting people from other countries fill up our schools...then when they graduate, they head back to whatever country they're from.

I have a nephew finishing up optometrist school (have no idea what it's called) and he says he's a token white male in a sea of Asian women. Not that he's complaining.

 

[boedicca]

That is why ObamaCare will fail. It is all about Price Controls - not increasing supply.

 

[Truthmatters]

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html

 

[AllieBaba]

Federal Pell Grant Program

Oh my god, you are such an idiot.

First paragraph:
"The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education."

DOH!

 

[Dr Gregg]

I think there is going to be a dr shortage even if nothing had been done.

That is why the pell grants part was important.

There are really good benifits that will be included in this bill for seniors though.

Yeah, nothing to do with the healthcare. They have to go into gigantic financial debt, and then have to deal with absurdly high malpractice insurance and being sued everything they can't cure someone or something goes wrong, many times even if they did nothing wrong. it's like if a doctor didn't diagnose something, then they are a fault,a nd that's stupid IMO.

 

[Truthmatters]

Federal Pell Grant Program

Oh my god, you are such an idiot.

First paragraph:
"The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education."

DOH!

Tell me what it is you have to do to get accepted into a doctorate program?

 

[Truthmatters]

That is why ObamaCare will fail. It is all about Price Controls - not increasing supply.

What about the great benifits to Seniors that is in the bill and saves money to boot?

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education

 

[editec]

There's already a shortage of family practice MDs.

Expect it to get worse, rather than better.

My advise is to get sick now to avoid the rush.

 

[chanel]

Our area is short on OB/gyns. The local hospital got in trouble a few years ago because the nurses were delivering babies. Many have moved out of NJ (sue capital of the country) and others have simply stopped delivering. I'm with you editec. Glad my babies done be birthed already. Lol

 

[manu1959]

I think there is going to be a dr shortage even if nothing had been done.

That is why the pell grants part was important.

There are really good benifits that will be included in this bill for seniors though.

do you know how long it takes to become a doctor......just admit they added to the demand without thinking through how to add to the supply....

dr's for 30 million new patients in the next 4 years....hello...med school takes a few years intern and residency not to mention pre med education....

i wonder if the prices will go up and the wait for service will increase with the number of doctors declining and the number of patients increasing......

 

[Truthmatters]

No they thought it through and desided that is no reason to deny life saving care to Americans