Doctor shortage: Florida Sen. Bill Nelson introduces legislation to train more physicians

Right now, the entire nation is experiencing a shortage of doctors.

It's gotten so bad, the Association of American Medical Colleges said we could be down nearly 105,000 doctors by 2030.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D- Fla., has introduced legislation to hire and train thousands of new doctors.

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Nelson said the problem originated in 1997, when the federal government capped the number of medical residents it would pay for each year. Since then, the population has grown by more than 50 million, creating an alarming need for doctors.

“There has definitely been a known shortage that exists, and we're just walking down a road to an increase amount of shortages,” said Dr. Tra'Chella Johnson Foy, president of the Duval County Medical Society.

The AAMC reports the country faces a shortage of 40,800 to just under 104,900 doctors by 2030.

According to published reports, Florida is facing a shortage of about 7,000 medical specialists through 2025.

“There [are] increased wait times in doctor's offices, there's not as great of care because people are feeling potentially more rushed about caring for patients,” Foy said. “It creates a potential to not provide as good of care as we could, and we don't want that to happen.”

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Nelson said the legislation would expand medical residency programs to help train more doctors across the country.

He said it would create 3,000 new Medicare-supported residency slots every year beginning in 2019, and growing to 15,000 by 2024.

“We think it's a great thing for the community and for the nation,” Foy said.

The bill is headed to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.

Cox Media Group