Mental Health

Shortage of Doctors Could Pose Problems

By Staff Reporter | Update Date: Jul 06, 2012 03:23 PM EDT

After the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Affordable Care Act signed president Obama made law was constitutional, there are questions about who are going to treat all these newly insured people.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, there is not enough doctors to treat patients and that could pose a real problem.

"After the passage of ACA, there is recognition that there will be real physician shortages if we don't do more to lift the residency cap," said AAMC Chief Advocacy Officer Atul Grover. People on both sides of the aisle have realized the need to train more doctors."

A new report says that nearly 63,000 doctors will be needed by 2015 and about 130,600 by 2025. Approximately 21,400 surgeons will be needed by 2020.

"The new AAMC projections reflect what happens with a relatively sudden increase in physician demand," said Scott Shipman, senior researcher of workforce studies at AAMC. "From a projection standpoint, there is an exacerbated shortage in all areas."

Once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, 32 million Americans will be insured and an additional 15 million will soon be eligible to receive Medicare. The AAMC, in 2006, called for a 30 percent increase in medical school enrollment by 2015, but has only seen a 13 percent increase in enrollment so far.

"With the shortage of physicians, it is usually the most vulnerable patients who have access problems," said Tim Dall, a health economist and director of health care consulting at IHS Global Insight. "It's often the Medicaid population because Medicaid reimbursement rates are so low."

In addition, a recent study from the American Academy of Dermatology found that there are only 3.5 dermatologists for every 100,000 Americans, with patient wait times running as long as three months in some areas.

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