Does the lack of supply of medical care contribute to the high cost of medical care?
I’ve asked similar questions, but never got the right answers, so I assume I’m not asking the right questions. So I’m trying again. I’ve read that the AMA limits the number of new doctors coming into the system each year, but previous questions I’ve asked seem to not support that claim, and according to the answers I’ve recieved, the AMA doesn’t limit the number of doctors. But the fact remains that medical care is astronomical, and logic would support the theory that if we had more doctors, cost would go down. So the questions I am now looking at are as follows:
If we had more doctors in the country, would cost go down? I think that the logical answer would be yes. More competition means better quality at lower prices.
Who or what is limiting the number of doctors in America? I’ve read a few times it’s the AMA, but that seems to not be the case. I’ve been told that medical schools and residency programs do limit the number of trainees, and that specific medical specialty boards may be involved in those decisions. This is a foreign language to me. What’s a residency program, how does it affect the number of doctors in America, who is behind this decision, and what would have to happen to ceize this practice?
Please be thorough in your answers! I’ve spent hours trying to research this. Who is limiting the number of doctors in America, thereby increasing the cost of healthcare? If it’s residency programs, explain what that is, who runs it, how many there are, how they limit the number of doctors in America, and why they do so!
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Having worked in a hospital, though a while ago, I would say it’s the hospital’s that determine the # of trainees because it depends on how much money each department or specialty gets. It is not my understanding that the AMA controls the # of people going into medicine.
A residency program follows Medical school & the 1st year of being an intern(1st year doctor). Then comes a 3 year residency program with rotations & then a specialty. After the residency, some doctors do another year in their specialty called a fellowship.
Regardless of the # of doctors that finish their training, many want to stay in urban areas or where there are large specialty medical centers.
This leaves rural areas with relatively poor access to health care & relatively poor health care where people can’t afford treatment.
There have been some government grants that will forgive part of a medical student’s loans if they agree to work in a poor rural area after they finish their training.
Due to HMO’s there is also a decreasing number of people going into medicine & more doctors leaving the field because all they do is get to see a patient for 12 minutes & do paper work & fight with the HMO’s to get treatment for their patients. This has lowered the number of doctors in the country.
I don’t know how many residency programs there are in the US, but I would guess a few hundred.
It’s not a simple matter of supply & demand…like say with cars.
HMO’s also have a say in who can get onto their panels to treat patients & often since health insurance has turned into a for profit enterprise from a non-profit arena; the insurance companies just want to collect premiums & not want to provide treatment…they oftentimes deny requests by doctors for tests or treatments for patients. This accounts for poorer access to health care…it’s called “GREED”.
Try to watch Michael Moore’s documentary “SICKO” about the state of health are in the United States.
To tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone is limiting the # of doctors in the US anymore…there are very competitive programs that may only have a few places…but I remember when students couldn’t get into medical school in the US & would go to Mexico; Spain; etc. There just aren’t enough doctors & our population has grown in addition to people living longer & infantile mortality decreasing.
I hope I have touched on all your questions.
Where are you from if English isn’t your native language?…Do you live in the States? If no, where?