It's getting harder for Americans to find a doctor

There are signs that it's getting harder for Americans to find a doctor.

Why it's getting so hard to find a new doctor, and what to do if you end up looking for one , MarketWatch, Sally Benford, May 10, 2023

This is due to at least two main factors.

Not enough new doctors are being trained, there are not enough residency slots for every applicant applying who graduated from medical school.

This article goes into more detail, explaining that there are more residency slots than the number of persons graduating from U.S. schools, but after also factoring in people who trained at medical schools outside the country (some of whom are U.S. citizens and some not) there exist 0.85 positions per applicant.

Match Day 2023 a reminder of the real cause of the physician shortage: not enough residency positions, Rebekah Bernard, M.D., MedicalEconomics.com, March 15, 2023

Training doctors is expensive and requires a big investment of resources.

The other problem is the government has set up a price-fixing scheme, when it comes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and there is an increasing lag between what government has set the price at and the going price set by doctors.

It's a basic principle of economics that price fixing tends to cause shortages.

Under the Medicare program, a doctor is not allowed to charge the patient 15% more than the amount the government has set to pay for that procedure. If a doctor is caught charging more than that, they can face fines or ultimately lose eligibility to be reimbursed by Medicare.
In the U.S. there is a 2.9% payroll tax to pay for Medicare (half paid by the employee and half paid by the employer). Once a person reaches 65 years of age, they have access to Medicare. It's typically after around this age that a person starts requiring a lot more medical care, statistically.

This is going to end up having consequences for the American healthcare system and the population's access to healthcare.

 

another thread: There Are Limited Spots for Doctors in Medical Schools--and We're Giving Them Away to Foreigners (posted by Lil Mike in Health Care, March 25, 2023 )

 

So you think American Doctors are forced to offer their skills for too small money? Is the US-healthcare-industry too cheap?

 

I think some of what you're doing is creating a false dichotomy, because you're only comparing doctor's pay to the pay of normal people.

That sort of argument could be used for all sorts of absurd things. As an example, maybe Americans were too poor to go to restaurants, so someone argues the country needs to take in more immigrants to lower restaurant costs.

But I think there is a fundamental problem with that sort of thinking. Similar to the fallacy of composition.
Sure, you could argue for that in any one area, but what if you tried doing it in all areas at once? It's clear something would be wrong with that picture.

I think one thing that could be done is to reduce income taxes for health workers. Because it does ultimately end up being like a tax on the sick.

 

yep, many older nurses and doctors quit during covid

 

Some of the doctors and nurses were pushed out or fired because they did not want to get the new so-called "vaccine". Some of the nurses eventually went back to hospitals that relaxed their vaccine requirement, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not eliminate the vaccine requirement for hospitals until May 31, 2023. By then, many of those nurses had already switched careers. Some of those nurses decided they did not want to go back, fearing there might be a repeat again in the future and they could find themselves losing their job again.

Many of the nurses are female, and had children to take care of. During the pandemic public schools in many areas were closed, which created more responsibilities on the mothers. This probably contributed to work burnout of many nurses. Being required to wear a face mask all the time in the workplace created some additional stress for many.
I suspect even the vaccine itself may have contributed to the burnout, since a constant low level immune response can cause a little bit of brain fog and tiredness.

The fact that some nurses left ended up adding to the workload of the remaining nurses. This was a big factor causing burnout. After a year or two, some of these nurses felt they could no longer take the stress of the workload anymore and left the field, needing a long break.

 

It is actually a world wide problem

 

I find this thread surprising. I was always in good health in my youth and never needed a doctor. Then one day I had a heart attack and needed triple bypass. The local hospital had two physicians capable of performing the procedure. (My great wife had a pizza party in the hospital with the nurses and found out which one was better... I love that gal!) All went well and a decade later all is well.

We retired some years ago and moved to a great little town in Texas. We selected the town for many reasons but one was the medical care available. It has two large hospital complexes and a university medical school. We had no trouble finding a family doctor (who has turned out to be great, by the way). Anyway, in the past few years the service here has allowed my wife to beat cancer and we're both doing great. When it came time to replace my pacemaker, it was easy.

This is a small town of about 70,000 in the middle of nowhere.

I guess my point is that health care, like school for your kids, employment opportunities, and so many other things, should all be considered when you decide where to live.

 

....
Touché. It's not the doctor's pay that makes it impossible for normal people to visit the ER or getting their appendix done. It's the non-medical staff, the marketing, and the urge not to optimizwe profits but to maximize them.

That wouldn't end the rocketing costs at all.

 

Probably a good thing. Doctors cause a great deal of death and suffering. Resulting in lowering life spans for Americans.

 

Plenty of doctors and medical care here. Perhaps you should move?

 

I'd leave the US in a heartbeat, if I could convince my loved ones to join me. Not because of healthcare, but because of our tyrannical out of control government and all the industries and institutions it corrupts.

 

My "here" is in Texas. Great medical care here. Two huge hospital complexes and a university medical center in a relatively small town. But if you wish to leave the country, I'll help get you to the airport.

 

Not in my experience. I've seen doctors cure my wife of cancer, deliver my kids, and perform triple bypass on me. All of us are doing great!

 

very few, just some loud maga ones

 

Lol. Just about everyone I’ve known who has died, died from mistakes doctors made.

It’s a fact that Americans have suffered lowering life spans the last ten years, even though we have the must expensive HC in the world.

Yet another scam we must endure.

 

So kind of you. That’s what Americans are known for. Lol.

 

I missed it. In the last fifteen years American medicine got me passed open heart surgery and cured my wife of cancer. Tough things to do. And we're fine.

 

Well of course, it’s all about you. Nothing else matters.

 

It's obviously NOT "just about me". But its not all about whiners either.

 

Yet you only know your experience. Do you think everyone had the same experience as you?

 

Whiners are easy to spot.

They whine.

 

Yeah in America today you’re labeled a whiner for telling the truth and wanting peace.

Orwell lives!

 

No... whining has to do with complaining constantly... WHAAA!!! WHAAAA!! Whining is a BAD thing.

Wanting peace is a GOOD thing. Unless the price is sacrificing freedom.

 

You need to get out more. I've seen lots of folks die for many reasons. None could ever be traced to mistakes by any doctor.

Have you considered moving?