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Obama’s health care pledge may hurt Canada

by investor on 05/01/09 at 1:54 pm

Health care reforms intended to provide medical coverage to legions of poor Americans could have a serious, unintended fallout for Canada, worsening the already dire doctor shortage here, experts warn.

The reforms promised by president-elect Barack Obama would offer insurance to 45 million U. S. residents who have no coverage. The resulting surge in demand for doctors’ services is likely to trigger a drain on Canada’s already meagre supply of physicians, some analysts say. Primary-care specialists, including family doctors, internists and pediatricians, will be in most demand if the changes come about, as looks increasingly likely.

Until U. S. medical schools start turning out larger numbers of doctors, the United States will likely look outside its borders to help fill the gap. The United States may use new incentives to lure physicians into those generalist roles.

“If, relative to the U. S., your primary care is undervalued, that is going to be a real issue for Canada,” said Dr. Fred Ralston of the American College of Physicians, which represents internal-medicine specialists. “If you don’t make parallel moves, that could really cause problems.”

Even now, physicians earn more on average in the United States than in Canada.

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