"Nevada is facing an extreme doctor shortage.
I introduced bipartisan legislation with
@DaveJoyceOH14 @TomOHalleran, and @BrianFitzUSA
to improve health care access in our rural and medically underserved communities." Lee posted.
WASHINGTON – Attracting a doctor to an Alaskan town was the premise for the hit comedy show “Northern Exposure,” but in rural Nevada, the shortage of physicians is no laughing matter.
“Nevada, like much of the country, is facing a dire doctor shortage,” said Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., and the numbers back her up.
— Over 83 million Americans live in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas, and all 17 of Nevada’s counties have some populations in areas under that designation due to low ratio of doctors to residents.
— One million people in Nevada live in an area with a shortage of physicians, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit think tank.
— Nevada ranks 48th in the nation in physicians per capita, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing last month.
To address this disparity, Rosen and Lee have filed bipartisan legislation in the Senate and House that would increase access to doctors, clinicians and specialists in the state.
“Rural and medically underserved areas of Nevada struggle to attract and keep primary care physicians and other clinicians,” said Dr. John Packham, associate dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.
There is consensus that it is needed.
Original Source Can Be Found Here.
