HEALTHCARE - More Family Physicians, California Style

"In California, Facing Down a Family Physician Shortage"
PBS Newshour Healthcare Report Series 11/18/2010

Excerpt from transcript

BETTY ANN BOWSER (Newshour): One of the things driving the shortage is money. The average medical student graduates owing more than $200,000 in educational loans. So, having to pay all that back is usually a factor when med students pick a career.

A new study just released here at U.C. Davis in Northern California of 6,000 doctors nationwide found that the specialists, the oncologists, the radiologists, the orthopedic surgeons, made up to 52 percent more money than the primary care physicians, even though the family doctors saw more patients.

PAUL LEIGH, health economist, University of California Davis: The disparity in wages between specialists and primary care physicians over a lifetime can be $2 million. So, that's a considerable incentive there for students to choose a specialty over primary care.

Can we fix the Primary Physician shortage by fixing the money (loan payback) problem?

Some thoughts:

• Have federal and state government loan grantees with the REQUIREMENT for much longer loan periods with lower payments (something like 30yr, and longer, FIXED RATE mortgages)


• Government subsidies for doctor education IF they pledge to go into Primary Care


• Pass state and federal laws that MANDATE that Primary Care Physicians get ADDITIONAL pay per patient they see, with safeguards against overburdening doctors