Thousands of Americans who have already signed up for policies under the Affordable Care Act will see their plans go into effect Jan. 1, 2014. But health officials worry there won't be enough doctors for everyone to have equal access to, Stateline, a government news site, reported.
Almost 20 percent of Americans live in areas where there are not enough primary care doctors to treat them, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, which tries to improve access to heal care. Moreover, 16 percent of Americans live in areas with not enough dentists, and 30 percent don't have easy access to mental health doctors, Stateline reported.
The situation will get worse once the Affordable Care Act goes into affect.
If something isn't done, there will be a shortage of 45,000 primary care doctors, and a shortage of 46,000 specialists by 2020, according to statistics from the Association of American Medical Colleges obtained by Stateline.
One reason for the lack of primary care doctors is that more medical students are choosing their specialties based on "work-life balance" instead of how much money they will make, according to the AAMC. Choosing primary care requires students to put in long hours and be on call.
"Half of the physicians in training are women," Christine Mitchell, the AAMC's director of federal affairs, told Stateline. "You find more of them are looking for a career that might be compatible with part-time hours, that don't involve being on call. Men are more engaged in child care today, and they have similar concerns as they consider their career choices."
Several changes are being implemented to increase health care access, including allowing mid-level medical personnel do few procedures traditionally performed by doctors and dentists.
"In the meantime, people are going to suffer," Linda Rosenberg, president of the National Council for Behavioral Health, told Stateline.
