http://www.jbs.org/jbs-news-feed/6209-obamacare-doctor-shortages-and-rationingUnder President Barack Obama’s recently approved health care “reform,” experts are warning the nation to brace for a massive shortage of doctors in the coming years, leading to longer wait times, less access to services and eventually government rationing.
Based on the government’s own calculations, there is already a vast shortage of doctors in certain areas of the country (ironically, caused in part by Congress essentially capping the number of residents that medical schools could train in the late 90s). And according to experts in a wide range of fields, the problem is only going to get worse with the implementation of “reform.”
As provisions of ‘ObamaCare’ kick in over the next several years, more than 30 million people who are currently uninsured will be forced to purchase insurance. And after being ordered by government to pay for it under penalty of fines and possibly jail, people will obviously want to make maximum use of what they paid for.
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the shortage could reach up to 150,000 doctors over the next 15 years. "It will probably take 10 years to even make a dent into the number of doctors that we need out there," AAMC’s Chief Advocacy Officer Atul Grover told the Wall Street Journal for an article entitled ‘Medical Schools Can't Keep Up.’ And plenty of other experts agree that there is a looming disaster.
“With health care reform, we won’t have enough people to serve the communities,” explained Dr. Javette Orgain, assistant dean of University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School’s Urban Health Program. “Not only are there issues of longer wait times, there are issues of having to be transported from one place to another to get the care that you need. The issue becomes one of access: How long do you have to wait to get an appointment? How long do you have once you get in to that appointment?”
Even without looking abroad for clues, some consequences of ‘ObamaCare’ on supply and demand can be readily deduced by examining examples closer to home. The State of Massachusetts, which suffers under a health care regime similar to what is now being imposed on the entire nation, offers a telling glimpse at what is in store for America’s health system. “People had to line up to have access because of limited supplies of providers,” said Oregon Health & Science University’s Associate Dean of Education, Dr. Don Girard.
Even the mainstream media has reported some of the accelerating problems with the state’s flawed health system. “This week it became impossible in Massachusetts for small businesses and individuals to buy health-care coverage after Governor Deval Patrick imposed price controls on premiums,” reported the Wall Street Journal on April 9. “Health costs have run off the rails since former GOP Governor Mitt Romney and Beacon Hill passed universal coverage in 2006, and Mr. Patrick now claims price controls are the sensible response to this ostensibly [sic] industry greed.”
Insurance prices in the state are, in fact, the highest in the nation. But it turns out it has nothing to do with “greed” — all of the state’s main insurers are non-profits, and all of them operated at a loss last year. In response to the organizations’ refusal to sell more policies, the government plans to force them to continue offering government-approved plans at government-approved prices; a sure recipe for bankruptcy.
And on top of the myriad of problems caused by government-induced market distortions, another under-reported issue that will compound the doctor-shortage crisis is the fact that they might not be willing to cooperate. There is a growing rebellion among doctors who are simply refusing to continue practicing under the new ‘ObamaCare’ regime. A poll conducted by Investor’s Business Daily revealed that — contrary to government propaganda — an astonishing two thirds of doctors were opposed to the “reform.” Worse still, 45 percent said they would consider quitting if it passed. And the wave of resignations has already begun.
“What many people may not realize is that health reform could impact physician supply in such a way that the quality of health care could suffer,” explained managing partner Steve Marsh with The Medicus Firm, which conducted its own poll and received similar responses. “The reality is that there may not be enough doctors to provide quality medical care to the millions of newly insured patients.”
Like in other nations with government-controlled health care systems, the only solution to the impending shortage crisis will ultimately be government rationing of services. But some states and commentators are already proposing various temporary fixes to try and start tackling the problem before it gets out of hand.
For instance, the Associated Press reported on April 14 that one of the ideas being seriously considered in dozens of states is increasing the use and authority of nurse practitioners in primary care. Laws on the subject currently vary widely from state to state, and while various proposals to expand the role of nurses have significant support among nursing groups, other organizations are fighting back.
"A shortage of one type of professional is not a reason to change the standards of medical care," said President-Elect Dr. Cecil Wilson of the American Medical Association, which supported ObamaCare and is therefore at least partially responsible for the impending shortage. "We need to train more physicians," he claimed.
Another idea was floated by the New York Times on its “economix” blog. “[T]he United States should allow free immigration for all qualified nurses, doctors and medical technicians whose wages exceed $75,000 a year,” wrote economics Professor Aaron Edlin and public policy Professor Dana Goldman. “Such an increase in supply may not stop health care costs from rising, but it will prevent them from rising even faster with a potential upsurge in demand.”
As the professors note in their piece, “health reform stands to make medical care more expensive and less available.” And among the most hard hit by the doctor shortage will be poor and elderly patients who rely on Medicare. Countless doctors across the nation already refuse to accept such clients because they claim government does not pay enough. And with more people now privately insured and with an aging population requiring more health services, that problem is only going to get worse as well.
While the current battle against the unconstitutional federal insurance mandate being waged by state Attorneys General is noble; if successful, it will lead to another important problem if the rest of Obama’s “reform” legislation remains in place. If the courts declare that, indeed, people cannot be unconstitutionally forced to purchase anything by the federal government, but insurance companies are still required to provide coverage to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, a sensible person would simply wait until they had a major problem before buying health insurance (kind of like what is happening in Massachusetts). The long-term effect of such a scenario would almost certainly be an end to the private insurance market as providers all go bankrupt, followed by a “necessary” total government takeover of health insurance.
Central planning and unconstitutional government involvement in medicine are what led to the current broken system and the majority of its problems. It follows, then, that more of the same “prescriptions” will only serve to compound the disaster. The “reform” bill should be repealed as soon as the next Congress is sworn in. It’s time for real change, like a permanent wall of separation between health care and state.
Topic: ObamaCare: Doctor Shortages And Rationing (Read 497 times)