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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Doctor Shortage will be affected by Obamacare!

     Before I start this article I want to make it very clear that I am for Health Care reform, but I am very against the type of health care brought forth from the Obama administration and 79% of the people in the USA are behind that thought! As for those that doubt my sources this article is based on stories by the Los Angeles Times and Annie Lowrey and Robert Pear of the New York Time two well respected news papers.
     The articles question what the Obamacare policy will do to the actual care when it comes to Doctors ability or numbers to care for the people. In section of California known as the Inland Empire Obamacare is expected to extend coverage to 300000 people, but the question is will this actually bring a lift in care? Local Health in the area doubt that there will be enough Doctors to meet the needs of this number. This is not the only place that is worried the Mississippi Delta, Detroit and suburban Phoenix sees problems here also. The article shows that the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that by the year 2015 the USA will have 62,900 fewer Doctors than needed! It is also noted that this number will double by 2025! To be fair even without the Obamacare by 2025 the shortage of Doctors will be 100,000! A government council has estimated that an area  of 100,000 people need 60 to 80 primary care doctors and 85 to 105 specialists.
       The article goes on to state that fewer than 50% of primary Doctors are not taking on Medicaid patients so even if people are entitled to care they will not be able to find it! over 1/3 of the coverage growth by Obamacare is medicaid.
        The Obamacare will be adding to an already strained situation of doctor shortage! Medicare is estimated to surge with the baby boomers to 73.2 Million by 2025. This is shown to be up 44% from this year! Experts have said that the pool of Doctors has not kept up and will not in the near future! To those who say this is Medical Schools fault it is shown that they have increased enrollment but not as fast as older people are coming on to the needs! There are not enough training places for Doctors and they are working less hours than in the past. To add to this dismal thought is the note that a third of the doctors we now have are 55 or older and they themselves will be nearing retirement and having health problems themselves!
          Living in one of the largest medical training areas with Duke UNC, Wake Forest and NC State this is a hard article to swallow but it needs to be said that Obamacare is not popular with Doctors I have talked with. One wonders if they were consulted along with the rest of the US Population when Obamacare was put forth! Just my opinion! I am always reminded of my Dad's statement that was meant to be funny, but something to think about...."did you know that 50% of Doctors graduated in the bottom half of their Medical Class." Can they cope with the increase?  So in all quality and numbers need to be looked at in the future!