November 5, 2013
Several media outlets are reporting on projections that the United States is likely to face a shortage of physicians in coming years, attributable in part to the Affordable Care Act.
Reuters (11/5, Seaman) reports on a study that indicates that the United States will need more physicians by 2025. The additional doctors will be needed to account for three factors: the US population overall is projected to grow 9.5% by 2025, the population is getting older, and the Affordable Care Act will increase the utilization of medical services. The report was published in the journal Health Affairs. The severity of the shortage will vary based on doctor specialty and part of the country.
USA Today (11/5, Kennedy, 5.82M) also reports on the study, highlighting its projection that up to 50% of the projected doctor shortage could be addressed through expanding innovative techniques.
The New York Post (11/5, Campanile, 1.4M) reports on the Affordable Care Act-related aspects of the doctor shortage in an article entitled “States Face ObamaCare Doctor Shortage.” The shortage varies based on geography: “A study by the Kaiser Family Health Foundation found that only 40 percent of primary-care needs are being met in New York because of the shortage, among the lowest rates in the country. In New Jersey, only about half the need is being met. In Connecticut, it’s just 15 percent.”
The National Journal (11/5, Koren, Subscription Publication, 427K) reports that “America is running out of doctors.” People who are newly insured under the Affordable Care Act will most strongly stress “primary-care physicians, such as general internists, family doctors, and pediatricians.” According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, “the nation will be 91,500 physicians short by 2020.”
(Article courtesy American Medical Association.)
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