Every year I hear about qualified premeds not getting into med school because there are so few spots. Why are qualified people being turned away if there’s a worsening doctor shortage in the US?

Question

Every year I hear about qualified premeds not getting into med school because there are so few spots. Why are qualified people being turned away if there’s a worsening doctor shortage in the US?

In: 3577

Answer 1

In the US, the medical profession operates like a guild in economic and regulatory terms. Although there are complex reasons and policies for why this is so, the bottom line is that the supply of physicians is artificially constrained resulting in higher costs with poorer outcomes for patients. It is one of many failures in US health care policy that could be fixed if we had the will to do so.