Though the health-care-reform bill is being hailed for providing medical coverage to 32 million Americans that currently lack it, many experts are concerned that the influx of new patients will swamp the system—in effect, reducing the number of doctors available. According to recent reports, America may face a "shortfall" of 40,000 primary-care physicians over the next decade. How worried should we be?
The quality of U.S. medical care will plummet: Expect "longer wait times" and a general "decline in the high quality of care Americans are accustomed to," says the editorial board in Investor's Business Daily. Just look at Canada or the U.K.: Their government-run systems "encourage unnecessary doctor visits" and, as a result, have led to "long, and sometimes deadly, wait times." Obama is getting just what he asked for: An America with an overcrowded, substandard medical system.
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