Until government is forcibly removed from the equation of healthcare, our healthcare problems will only continue to get worse.

FTA: the AAMC report found that more than 30 percent of California´s doctors were 60 or older - the second highest rate of any state.

Ruh roh.

Not mentioned in the article - in 2014 most of the newly ´insured´ with be covered with an expanded Medicaid - with it´s very poor compensation for care providers. The answer is simple - you want to provide lots of medical care for (now mostly) immigrants from Mexico - allow illegal immigrant doctors to practice medicine in California. (I am being half sarcastic here).

Not to worry, why just around the corner is our answer.....Government doctors. Think I´m kidding? Watch as the Gov will offer free tuition to those entering the medical field. All ya hafta do is agree to work for X amount of years in a Gov run health care facility.

Look, California. We don´t give a flying flip about your multitude of problems, including your upcoming health care Hiroshima. You´ve been voting relentlessly for this stuff for the last 40 years -- now enjoy the Blue State Boogie.

The law of unintended consequences strikes again!!!

Simple solution, ask doctors to do more and pay them less and then tax everyone else. That should fix it. At least it has for the last 40 years. What possibly could go wrong?

Insurance does NOT guarantee acces to care

When the government bureaucracy tries to micromanage 16% of the U.S. economy rather than the market, it is truly the road to H---.

obamacare....for everyone...but not for all

How do I locate a Dr. in the black market? I´m sure there will be a growing network of black market health care.

Physicians assistant, nurse practioners, pharmacy techs, this is the wave of the future. Over half of medical and dental schools are women , they usually but not all, work part time and will go corporate rather thn private practice which if not dead is dying a slow death. This is what people want nd now they will get it. We sold ourselves for half the price of a colonoscopy.

FTA - more than 30 percent of California´s doctors were 60 or older - the second highest rate of any state.

So within 5 years or so most of these doctors will hang up their stethoscope. Then what?

The market for "Bruhas" and practitioners of Santorini has been expanding in the Great Southwest. As these traditional healers will be picking up the slack in the new system....surely we can find a way to compensate them out of the federal budget !

Buuwaaaaaahahahaha !

Eeeejo La !

A bit of advice for my fellow aging boomers. Do not go to the doctor if you are sick. Only go to the doctor/hospital when you are REALLY sick. You know, when not going is a bigger threat than going.


Girl´s Hubby

So within 5 years or so most of these doctors will hang up their stethoscope. Then what?

Meet your new Dr. Mohammed Mominul Hoque. He´s from Bangladesh.

Docs seeing themselves replaced by nurse practitioners and PA´s whenever and however possible. It´s been the plan all along. BTW, don´t believe that everything these mostly fine professionals do is really "checked " by the physician. It is not. Just telling the truth.

I took my visiting combat medic son in to his pediatrician last week because he brought the Type B flu home with him from his base. His doctor is a med professor at OU, and is one of few clinics that meet the strict criteria for being associated with OU-Health Science Center. He speaks three languages & has a keen eye on what´s going on in the medical field.

He asked my son what he wanted to study when he gets out of the Army in 2-1/2 years. He said maybe Physical Therapy.

Doc told him to consider a mid-range degree. He said PA´s are going to be "worth their weight in gold" in the medical market place since doctors are going to become more & more scarce because of Obamacare. One doctor is going to be overseeing multiple PAs. The patient is rarely going to see a real doctor.

Happy New Year.

#4, you are going to condemn the rest of us in California who did NOT vote for the lefties?? It isn´t our fault that the nutcase socialists and communists came over here from various OTHER states and stole our state from us. I wouldn´t wish that on you.

#13, I think you mean Santería.

This is getting worse, much worse. Doctors are planning their exits and coordinating with their friends to take care of their families.

Unless Obamacare is repealed or amended, Primary care doctors will become extinct.
You will be seen by a NP, a nurse, or even a med student. Primary care is the dodo bird of
Obamacare. Do you think a doctor will be willing, or will be able to afford, working with Medicaid-like reimbursement.

I´m disappointed by reading the negative slant of the care provided by Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners. Like it or not Obamacare passed. Americans are getting older and the number of primary care physicians is shrinking fast. There are not enough new grads and many more physicians are just quitting. There are only two ways to correct this deficit, flood the system with foreign physicians of questionable training or utilize the PA´s and NP´s. They are American trained and very experienced in treating the most common reasons to seek care in a primary care clinic. Your illness/ disease isn´t so special! This model frees the physicians to concentrate on patients whose conditions are very complex. It´s also the PA/NP´s job to direct the physician to the patients they need to see ASAP. Obamacare is here and it will be a disaster. PA´s and NP´s are your friends in this mess and they will be the vanguard of primary care. With all that said, there is not enough PA/NP´s to fill the void, we are all in for a bumpy ride. Full disclosure: I was a practicing PA for many years and I married one as well, so my opinions here are completely and proudly biased.

#16, it depends on the state whether a nurse practitioner must be supervised. In Colorado, I do not require supervision by a physician and can have an independent practice.

Be assured that I definitely know when a patient needs a physician.

My patients are extremely pleased with my services as they feel I listen to them more intently and spend more time with them than a physician would be able to.

What if they gave Obamacare and nobody came? No Doctors, that is.

You cannot grant access to millions more and not expect a shortage. Why would an American want to go to med school today with the cost of educationm, so many restrictions, and lower reimbursement ? Physicians from other countries may have gotten a free education and willing to accept less pay.

Next will come special VISAs for foreign physicians and nurses. There is only one local primary care physician in my directory that is white and English is his first language. It has been that way for several years.

Many doctors in this are have joined the hospitals.