Because health plans under Obamacare are required to contain every benefit in the kitchen sink, patient demand will skyrocket. But wait time to seek care will only increase, due to the projected shortage of docs and medical providers.
Forbes Contributor John Goodman addresses the two reasons why there will be a shortage of docs and a longer wait time patient access to care.
On the supply side, there is really no provision under ObamaCare to create more doctors. In fact, the supply of doctor services is likely to decrease because of two more features of health reform. Doctors, who are already weary from third-party interference in the practice of medicine, will step up their retirement dates as they contemplate the prospects of even more bureaucracy. Also, hospitals are acquiring doctors as employees at a rapid rate. Indeed, more than half of all doctors are now working for hospitals. When doctors quit their private practices and start working for hospitals, they reduce the number of hours they work. (Forty hour work weeks and golf on the weekends replaces 50 and 60 hour work weeks.) Since they have a guaranteed income, they also become less productive.
Read more on the accelerating demand of health care services and the dwindling supply of medical providers here.
