Physicians are navigating a trifecta of financial, legal and structural pressures that show no signs of slowing.
Malpractice premiums have climbed for seven straight years, bankruptcy filings among physician practices hit their highest quarterly total in over a year, and independent practices are vanishing. Together, these forces are reshaping who controls American healthcare and at determining the cost to the physicians delivering it.
Here are 10 notes on physician threats:
1. Medical liability premiums have risen for seven consecutive years since 2019, a trend not seen since the early 2000s, according to research from the American Medical Association. The share of premiums that increased year over year peaked at 49.8% in 2024 before easing to 39.9% in 2025, up sharply from just 13.7% in 2018.
2. Physicians in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania face the highest regional risk, with 37.6% having been sued, compared to 26% in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
3. General surgeons lead all specialties in total claims filed at 177 per 100 physicians, followed by OB-GYNs at 139 per 100. Emergency medicine physicians have a 42% career sue rate and radiologists 38.2%, making them the next-highest risk specialties after surgical fields.
4. Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings increased by 33% in Q1 of 2026 compared to Q4 of 2025, according to a report from Gibbins Advisors. Clinics and physician practices logged four filings in Q1 of 2026 — their highest quarterly total in over a year — matching senior care’s four filings. Together, the two sectors accounted for two-thirds of all Q1 healthcare bankruptcy volume.
5. Physician practice bankruptcies climbed to their highest level in recent years in 2024 before dipping again in 2025. The firm recorded 10 physician practice and clinic bankruptcy filings in 2024 — nearly double the total seen in 2023 and more than any year since at least 2019 — before filings fell to six in 2025.
6. Becker’s tracked 23 physician practice closures in 2025.
7. By January 2026, 82% of all practicing U.S. physicians were employed by hospitals or corporate entities, up from 52% at the start of 2018, according to an Avalere study sponsored by Physicians Advocacy Institute. The study’s methodology notes that physician-owned Professional Corporations may be miscategorized as “corporate-owned,” meaning the share of truly independent physicians could be higher than reported.
8. The number of physicians practicing independently fell by 152,200 over the study period, down to just 120,900 by January 2026.
9. Hospital practice acquisitions grew 8.4% over the last two years and specifically accelerated in 2025, while corporate practice ownership continued growing in every six-month period analyzed throughout the study.
10. The projected U.S. physician shortage by 2036 is between 13,500 and 86,000, according to a paper published in the Permanente Journal. The physician attrition rate nearly doubled from 1.7% in 2010 to 3.1% in 2018. The mean age of clinically inactive physicians is now 48.1, compared to 57.1 in a similar 2008 cohort.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.