Forbes 12/08/2013
Doctor, Nurse Vacancies Soar Amid Obamacare Rollout
Doctor and nurse vacancies are approaching nearly 20 percent at hospitals as these facilities prepare to be inundated by millions of patients who have the ability to pay for medical care thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
You mean they can afford to get treated? The horror!
For both above.
They have health insurance(which they probably can't afford), no one said they could afford to get treated.
with an average deductible of $3500, I doubt many could afford a hospital stay even with insurance. Most hospital stays will be more then the deductible, so they will have over a $3500 bill come due.
Eventually nursing students will catch up, but they are set up for the need prior to Obamacare. There will be a gap between school meeting the needs and filling the needs.
BTW there was a nursing shortage before Obamacare.
The same problem exists with Dr's. Medical schools produce a set number of Dr's. The country will need more since theoretically millions more people will be able to see them regularly.
I believe Dr's and office workers will see a more drastic increase. Office visits are more economical then hospital visits. Much more likely to pay a co-pay to see a Dr then pay the deductible for a one day hospital stay.
That will extend into the hospital later but the initial bolus will be Dr offices. Good luck finding one that accepts new patients when new insured people start finding a family Dr.
In case you didn't know, Dr's limit the number of patients they cover. I lived in an area that had a Dr shortage for many years. Dr None was the most popular Dr. on admission forms.
Just like most government programs, long waits, delays and not enough staff will be a problem.
We assume that more people will sacrifice and pay for the insurance rather then just shaft the government, not get the insurance and change their taxes so they won't get a refund.
They would assume that the IRS will never change policy and start collection proceedings. They will, people will lose their homes, go bankrupt trying to pay the fees. But they can't drive people into bankruptcy at the start, it wouldn't look good for the program.
The IRS has been muzzled on Obamacare, that Muzzle will come off.
Doctor and nurse vacancies are approaching nearly 20 percent at hospitals as these facilities prepare to be inundated by millions of patients who have the ability to pay for medical care thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
