Many Newly Insured, Low-Income Massachusetts Residents Lack Access To Primary Care Physicians Amid Statewide Shortage

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 27 Jul 2007 - 20:00 PST

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A "critical shortage" of primary care physicians in Massachusetts has led many doctors to stop accepting new patients, according to a report released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the lack of PCPs "threatens to undermine" the Massachusetts health insurance law, which took effect July 1 and requires all state residents to obtain coverage or face tax penalties.

The study found that 49% of internists in the state are not accepting new patients and that 95% of the 270 general practice physicians at Boston's top three teaching hospitals have stopped accepting new patients. The Journal reports that "some providers say they have no idea how they will accommodate an additional half-million patients seeking checkups and other routine care." The average wait time for Massachusetts residents who make an appointment with their PCP is more than seven weeks -- a 57% increase over last year, according to the medical society.

Community health centers particularly are affected by the state physician shortage because they are "likely to face the largest influx of newly insured patients," according to the Journal. Some health centers have placed a temporary freeze on enrollment because there are not enough physicians to meet patient demand.

Elmer Freeman, director of the Center for Community Health, Education, Research and Service in Boston, said, "Health reform won't mean anything for the state's poor if they can't get a doctor's appointment." The number of PCPs nationwide decreased by 6% relative to the general population from 2001 to 2005, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change (Seward, Wall Street Journal, 7/25).

An executive summary of the medical society study is available online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat to view the abstract.

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