Doctor shortage could worsen as more people become insured and demand care, experts say

Linked from Patterico, A first look at Obamacare's Impact: Doctor shortage could worsen as more people become insured and demand care, experts say

As I interviewed everyone from hospital executives to insurance industry leaders for a story slated to run Sunday about the health care law President Obama signed this week, I heard a common refrain: Coverage does not equal access.

In plain English: Insuring a bunch of people in a few years is no guarantee they will actually get access to medical care. Why? Because Texas, along with the rest of the country, has a shortage of doctors. It’s especially acute in primary care. And it is expected to worsen as more uninsured people get coverage.

How did this shortage happen?

A lot of studies, including some cited in this space, list various reasons: Primary care doctors don’t get paid as much as other doctors, and they don’t get reimbursed for talking to their patients about how to stay healthy. The average doctor graduates from medical school with $150,000 in debts, according to Dr. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association. With that kind of debt, many of them can’t afford to get into primary care.