Supply of Physicians Is Just as Important as Supply of Health Care

I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured that writing a brief entry would be better than nothing.  Here it is.  I was reading an article from Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute, a think-tank which I respect highly for its insightful analysis.  This article was entitled Doc Holiday.  It illustrates how our already-problematic doctor shortage will be exacerbated by Obamacare.  It is a topic which I wrote about a year and a half ago, but it merits revisiting.

We face a basic issue of supply and demand.  Obama has essentially promised health care for an extra 32 million who have previously been uninsured.  This sounds noble and well-intended, but it ignores a fundamental problem: the amount of doctors entering the field really hasn't gone up much for years.  Demand for health care, on the other hand, has exploded.  If demand for labor skyrockets and supply stays stagnant, there will inevitably be a shortage of that good (i.e., health care). 

A non-rising supply of doctors is coupled with anathema of Obamacare in the medical field.  As Tanner points out, the average student coming out of medical school has nearly $300K in debt, which is a disincentive unto itself.  Even a sizable amount of current doctors would leave the profession, according to a 2010 poll, if Obamacare actually becomes a reality.  Why?  Because Big Government and red tape deter doctors from practicing by increasing insurance premiums. 

If the supply of physicians is severely lower than the demand of health care, and thus a demand for physicians to provide that health care, there is no point of talking about the topic.  Rationing health care will be inevitable because the supply of the good will be ever so limited.  As Tanner concludes in his article, "Promising universal health coverage is easy. But what does universal coverage mean if you can't actually see a doctor?"  Based on the laws of economics, the unsubstantiated promise of universal coverage doesn't mean squat.