◼ Among the many severe problems with Obamacare that a cheerleading media chose to ignore in the run-up to its March 2010 enactment, perhaps the most obvious was the fact that it would be impossible to sharply expand medical coverage in a thoughtful way in a nation where many states already had shortages of primary-care or “family” physicians. - Cal Watchdog
California is one of those states. California also has the nation’s oldest coterie of family doctors. Ergo, California was sure to be severely stressed by Obamacare. Now, 37 months after its passage, the state’s media is finally pointing this out. On Friday, the San Jose Mercury-News editorial board shared some grim truths:
“California doesn’t have enough primary care physicians. Forty-two of its 58 counties fall short of the federal government’s most basic standard. The state needs another 2,000 doctors, and the situation will get dramatically worse next year — even in Silicon Valley =– when 2-4 million Californians obtain health insurance under Obamacare and go looking for a doctor.Now the California media points out this stark, ugly truth, that a strained system is near-certain to become a dysfunctional one, where a shortage of doctors is likely to be addressed by pretending nurses are doctors?
“The California Medical Association wants to build more medical schools and expand opportunities for young doctors. Good plan — but thinking it will solve the immediate problem is like expecting a Band-Aid to heal a bullet wound. Training a doctor takes a decade. That’s a long time for a patient to sit in a waiting room.”
Thanks, California media. Thanks so much.
