Will Obama’s Health Care System Get a Clean Bill of Health From Doctors?

Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a recent survey published in the the New England Journal of Medicine.

The survey, which was conducted by a leading physician consulting firm based in Atlanta and Dallas, the Medicus Firm, found that a majority of physicians said the new government healthcare reform would cause the quality of American medical care to “deteriorate” and it could be the “final straw” that could send one third of  polled doctors out of medicine. More than 29 percent (29.2) percent of the nearly 1,200 doctors who responded to the survey said they would quit the profession, seek early retirement or practice medicine outside of the United States.

The medical journal published the results in its March and April edition, saying: “While a sudden loss of half of the nation’s physicians seems unlikely, a very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side effect of government healthcare.”

“Many physicians feel that they cannot continue to practice if patient loads increase while pay decreases,”  cited the study. “The overwhelming prediction from physicians is that health reform, if implemented inappropriately, could create a detrimental combination of circumstances, and result in an environment in which it is not possible for most physicians to continue practicing medicine.”

With an average education debt of $140,000, and many graduates approaching a quarter of a million dollars in school loans, being a doctor is becoming less and less economically feasible.

Under the new Obama health care system, 18 million of the 34 million people who would gain health care coverage over the next 10 years would obtain that coverage through Medicaid. But in a recent poll, 67% of primary care physicians said new Medicaid enrollees would not be able to find a primary care physician in their area.

Increasing government control of medicine via the conduits of the Department of Health and Human Services  and the Internal Revenue Service  may be the final straw that causes the physician workforce to break down.

Tags: government healthcare, government healthcare reform, obama healthcare system