With people so worried about health care rationing, why aren't we pushing for increasing the supply of doctors?
Why hasn't either side called for increased doctor training?
Is it perhaps that it might cost too much?
There really is a serious scarcity.
2009-09-18T00:20:30Z
<Train of Consequence> That isn't necessarily true. If you lower barrier costs (mainly educational costs), you can train more doctors at the same pay rate or lower. People who have gone to Med School, and there is no shortage of those, aren't going to stop being Doctors just because they got a 15% pay cut.
I do not advocate lowering salaries drastically though, maybe pegging them to the rate of average wage growth would be fine though.
Sarah2009-09-18T00:15:16Z
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Obama has already been working on that. Some of the money from the stimulus was for training and schooling: http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/76/expand-funding-to-train-primary-care-providers-and/
Obama has mentioned this as an opportunity to place more minorities in med schools, and Federal grants for educating these minorities. They will then commit to Clinic practices for the inner cities and low income cliental. This suggest those willing to get free college financing will be tools of the Government for who knows how long, and at what salaries. He has also suggested Nurse Praticioners and Physician Assistants as substitutions for MD's in such clinics, working under the supervision of an MD or DO. This is why Obamacare will have to include a Public option, since so many of the cost savings to pay for Healthcare will be in services provided and who provides them. This also reaps of Affirmative Action and lowered standards for admission to Med schools.
Absolutely Great question! But I don't think it is the concern about the care given (you can't produce Doctors and Nurses out of thin air), it is about controlling 17% of the US economy.
To increase supply of doctors you have to increase salaries for doctors not cut pay which will happen if government dictates fair prices for insurance pay outs.