Officials worry that the physician shortage will continue to hinder access to care for both insured and uninsured individuals. The number of primary care physicians is increasingly dwindling, perhaps a result of the high costs of medical education coupled with the comparatively low salaries of primary care providers to other providers in other specialties.
Proposed plans to deal with the shortage include increasing medical school enrollment and expanding the National Health Service Corps. Primary care physicians are asking for increases in their Medicare payments, but physicians in other specialties oppose any increases that would cut their reimbursement rates.
