Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.
The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.
Even if doctors do not quit their jobs over the ruling, America will face a shortage of at least 90,000 doctors by 2020. The new health care law increases demand for physicians by expanding insurance coverage. This change will exacerbate the current shortage as more Americans live past 65.
By 2025 the shortage will balloon to over 130,000, Len Marquez, the director of government relations at the American Association of Medical Colleges, told The Daily Caller.
“One of our primary concerns is that you’ve got an aging physician workforce and you have these new beneficiaries these newly insured people coming through the system,” he said. “There will be strains and there will be physician shortages.”
The DPMA found that many doctors do not believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will lead to better access to medical care for the majority of Americans, co-founder of the DPMA Kathryn Serkes told TheDC.
“Doctors clearly understand what Washington does not that a piece of paper that says you are ‘covered’ by insurance or ‘enrolled’ in Medicare or Medicaid does not translate to actual medical care when doctors can’t afford to see patients at the lowball payments, and patients have to jump through government and insurance company bureaucratic hoops,” she said.
The American Medical Association, which endorsed Obama’s health care overhaul, was not able to immediately offer comment on the survey. Spokesperson Heather Lasher Todd said it would take time to review the information in the survey.
Janelle Davis of the American Academy of Family Physicians said the AAFP could not provide thoughtful commentary without studying the survey’s findings and methodology.
美国医患医学会的一项调查显示，83%的美国医生因奥巴马总统的医疗改革法案考虑放弃从医。
美国医患医学会是一个由医患双方组成的非党派组织，该组织随机调查了全国699名医生，发现他们当中的多数都曾因上月才刚由最高法院通过的医改法案考虑过结束其职业生涯。
即便医生们不会因为该法案放弃执业，美国到2020年仍将面临至少9万名医生短缺。新医改法案扩大了医疗保险范围，导致对医生需求的增加。而这种变化将加剧当下的医生短缺，因为活到65岁以上的美国老人越来越多。
美国医学院协会政府关系主管伦恩 马奎斯告诉《每日通话》网站记者，到2025年美国医生短缺人数更将暴增至13万人。
他说：“我们担心的主要问题之一是医生的整体年龄越来越大，新获得医保福利的人却大量涌进医疗系统，这势必造成压力，医生也会供不应求。”
美国医患医学会的共同创办人凯斯琳 塞克斯告诉《每日通话》说，医患医学会发现很多医生并不相信《患者保护与平价医疗法案》能让大多数美国人更容易获得医疗服务。
她说：“医生们都很清楚联邦政府漠视的现实 政府允许的医疗费标准低得让医生无法承担，病人也面对政府和保险公司的种种官僚障碍，此时，即使有一纸法案规定你拥有联邦医疗保险或医疗补助福利，仍无法保证你就能获得医疗服务。”
曾对奥巴马医改表示赞同的美国医学协会还未能来得及对此调查发表评论。协会发言人希瑟 莱修 托德表示，审阅调查中的信息需要一些时间。
美国家庭医师学会的加内尔 戴维斯说，在对调查结果和调查方法进行必要的研究之前，学会无法对此给出恰当的评论。
Vocabulary:
exacerbate: 使恶化；使加重
balloon: 激增
