4 Reasons Why New York is Short of Primary Care Providers

The crisis is indeed real. New York is facing a statewide shortage of primary care physicians, and it is nowhere near getting resolved. The Healthcare Association of New York State reports over a thousand unfilled physician positions across New York, of which nearly one-third of the shortage pertains to primary care. A primary care provider is a doctor or other licensed medical professional who manages a person’s health care over time. Primary care providers diagnose and treat a wide range of common medical conditions.

In 2013, a report published by the Robert Graham Center estimated that the state of New York would fall short of at least an additional 1200+ physicians by 2030. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), a nationwide shortage of physicians is estimated to rise to 90,000 by 2020. Growing concerns over this issue have encouraged a team of industry experts at Medical Billers and Coders to sum up the fundamental causes that continue aggravating this crisis and to help understand how primary care billing and coding services can help curb the losses experienced by primary care practitioners. A Primary care provider can give you a trusting, ongoing relationship with one medical professional over time.

1. Although the federal bodies predict a 17% increase in the number of physicians in the coming decade, baby boomers are turning 65 at 36%, of which a significant portion are doctors who are aging out of the workforce. So, by the time the Affordable Care Act is implemented, at least one-third of all practicing physicians in the US would have retired. Adding to that, Obamacare continues to register uninsured beyond the 11 million who have already registered for the program. In light of these statistics, the AAMC estimates that the shortage of primary care physicians will persist and that this will affect, in particular, the aging population who will need medical care now more than ever.
2. According to the AAMC, 62% of the medical graduates from New York end up practicing in other states. The president of The Associated Medical Schools of New York highlighted that 11% of the country’s physicians get trained in New York, but most don’t stay there. On the other hand, medical schools and universities in Utah are reporting a drastic increase in first-year students. At the same time, some institutions, like the School of Medicine at Texas Tech University, have sought to reduce the length of their academic courses by a year. Moreover, very few graduates choose primary care over other specialized practices, while many become interns and enter family practice.
3. In addition, the Healthcare Association of New York reported that 888 physicians were hired last year to practice in New York City alone. Still, the number of physicians who retired in the same year exceeded 2100. The same report also indicated that graduates tend to move to other specialty fields, given that primary care does not pay well enough for practitioners to cope with their student loans.
4. Lastly, political influences and federal regulations have also significantly contributed to this physician shortage. For instance, every medical school graduate must complete a residency before they can start practicing. Their number amounts to about 113,000, most funded by Medicare. This number hasn’t changed since 1997, when Congress converged on that figure to accommodate the Balanced Budget Act. Senator Charles Schumer proposed a bill last year, propagating an increase in the number of Medicare-funded residencies by 15,000 over the next five years. Still, Congress has not yet taken any action.

Many physicians and healthcare institutions active in primary care have already resorted to primary care billing and coding services to help cope with the stricter coding regulations implemented lately, which have only maximized the risk of revenue losses for these comparatively less-paid primary care physicians. While such billing and coding services do little to curb the shortage of primary care providers, they do, however, stand as a good measure that newly graduated physicians can consider before deciding to move away from the primary care field for reasons associated with financial risks and revenue benefits.