MAG Journal
June 2010 – p 16
By: Newt Gingrich and Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, FACS
Forum: Health law will worsen doctor shortage
Posted: Saturday, April 24, 2010
By Newt Gingrich and Jeff Segal
Now that President Obama has signed his health care legislation into law, the focus is supposed to be on the millions of Americans expecting health insurance coverage. Those who previously walked into emergency rooms with no insurance are expecting free or low-cost health care while the rest of the nation pays for it.
We do strive for all Americans to get coverage in some form or fashion. But our medical system cannot and will not be able to take care of an estimated 30 million new patients all at once.
The underlying problem is that we simply do not have enough physicians to provide needed care – whether it be for preventive care, serious trauma or somewhere in between. Many medical specialties such as neurosurgeons are in extreme short supply.
