Nevada Has A Severe Doctor Shortage Problem. ObamaCare Is Making It Worse

Uninsured Nevadans thought they were getting a good deal under the Affordable Care Act. For more than 540,000 residents, the law seemed like a chance to finally get health care coverage.

But getting coverage means having access to a physician, and the state has historically suffered from a severe shortage of doctors. In 2010, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported only 198 physicians per 100,000 residents, far below the U.S. average of 272. And the ratio of doctors to residents, according to the CDC, ranks Nevada 47th nationwide. States like Nevada also have a more difficult time bringing an influx of medical professionals to their rural areas.

ObamaCare is only exacerbating the Silver State’s shortage problem. Since the inception of President Obama’s health care law, a surge of new customers have been introduced to the population seeking health care, and there simply aren’t enough doctors to accommodate the new demand that has been created.

For 65-year old Barbra Suber, a new resident of Nevada, it took months to find a doctor who could treat her.

Suber told the Reno Gazette Journal, “I love this area, but I probably wouldn’t have moved here if I had realized that was going to happen. I was ready to go down to Sacramento just to find a specialist. Dealing with the doctor shortage situation was just incredibly frustrating.”

When will Democrats wake up and realize that ObamaCare is actually making it harder for patients to see their doctors? Physician shortage is only going to get worse because of all the uncertainty surrounding the law. It’s time they stop defending ObamaCare and give power back to patients.

From Reno Gazette Journal:

For most of Nevada’s uninsured, the Affordable Care Act provides an opportunity to finally get health insurance.

For the Silver State, however, the program also casts a spotlight on a serious chronic condition.

As a result of the state exchange and Medicaid expansion, hundreds of thousands of uninsured Nevadans are now eligible for insurance. The influx of new patients is expected to further strain health care delivery systems in a state that has long suffered from doctor shortages.

The problem is especially acute in Nevada, which historically does not place a high priority on health care, advocates said.