According to the Los Angeles Times, as California moves to expand healthcare coverage to millions of Californians under the Affordable Care Act, it faces a major obstacle: There simply aren't enough doctors to treat a crush of newly insured patients.
The obstacle, while acute in California, is not unusual. There exist regional doctor shortages throughout the United States (see map), and these are likely to worsen. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that there will be a shortage of 63,000 doctors by 2015 and 130,600 by 2025. The tidal wave of newly insured patients has to be served somehow and US Medical Schools and Residency Programs cannot supply anywhere near these numbers of new physicians in such a short time frame.
Some lawmakers want to fill the gap by redefining who can provide healthcare. They are working on proposals that would allow physician assistants to treat more patients and nurse practitioners to set up independent practices. Pharmacists and optometrists could act as primary care providers, diagnosing and managing some chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high-blood pressure.
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