Americans face unprecedented wait times to see their doctors. This squeeze is particularly acute in primary care, but is also being felt in specialties like neurology, psychiatry and OB/GYN.
According to the American Medical Association (AMA), here are the top reasons why it’s harder than ever to be seen by a health care provider:
1. Not enough doctors. With the U.S. population growing and aging, the need for physicians continues to grow. Yet, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, the physician shortage is projected to reach 86,000 by 2036.
2. A broken Medicare system. With an aging population and more Medicare patients on the horizon, the Medicare system needs significant reform. Today, Medicare pays physicians nearly 30% less than it did in 2001, when adjusted for inflation. So while the overhead costs of running a practice—equipment, office space, staff salaries—have all soared, payment for caring for Medicare patients has decreased dramatically, making running a practice extremely challenging.
“Physicians have shouldered the burden of a broken Medicare payment system for far too long. Especially in small, independent practices, and practices in rural and underserved areas, physicians have been forced to cut costs, eliminate staff, or limit the number of Medicare patients we see,” says Bruce A. Scott, M.D., president of the AMA. “These are steps we take simply to keep the doors open and the lights on. But unfortunately, because of this dysfunction, all patients—not just Medicare patients—are put at risk when our flawed and outdated payment system forces physicians to close their practices.”
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3. Administrative burdens. Increasing bureaucracy and administrative barriers, such as prior authorization, consume significant time for physicians. Doctors today, on average, spend two hours on paperwork for every one hour they spend with patients.
4. Backlog and burnout. One of the ultimate legacies of COVID-19 is a backlog of services and screenings put off during the pandemic, now offered by fewer providers. Two in three doctors admitted to experiencing burnout during the pandemic, according to a survey from the AMA, the Mayo Clinic and Stanford Medicine. That’s the highest level of burnout ever recorded by the AMA. One in five physicians surveyed during the pandemic said they planned to leave medicine within the next two years, while one in three said they’d cut back on their hours.
While there is indeed a crisis in care, the AMA says that there are solutions to address the problem. They include:
- Fixing the broken Medicare payment system. The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee has called for connecting physician payment to the Medicare Economic Index, which would ensure rising practice costs do not continue to overwhelm what Medicare pays.
- Adding voices to the chorus of patients and physicians calling for reform. Those concerned about this problem and worried about continued access to their physician, can visit FixMedicareNow.org.
“It is imperative that we take steps as a country to help all patients get the high-quality care they need and to ensure physicians can continue to deliver it,” says Dr. Scott.
(State Point)
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