An obvious solution - one strongly lobbied against by the American Medical Association, the major professional organization for doctors in the USA, since its founding - is to increase the number of doctors. The 10 countries ranked by the OECD with the most doctors per capita have from 4.6 to 6.6 doctors per 1000 residents. The United States has 2.7 per 1000. [1]
How to do it?
- Educate more doctors.
- Allow more doctors trained abroad to obtain licenses.
- Allow paraprofessionals to do more, freeing M.D.s for the work requiring the most training.
And how to make it possible?
- Drastically reduce the ability of lobbyists for big-money interests and major campaign donors to influence legislation and the actions of the executive branch.
Comments
An obvious solution - one strongly lobbied against by the American Medical Association, the major professional organization for doctors in the USA, since its founding - is to increase the number of doctors. The 10 countries ranked by the OECD with the most doctors per capita have from 4.6 to 6.6 doctors per 1000 residents. The United States has 2.7 per 1000. [1]
How to do it?
- Educate more doctors.
- Allow more doctors trained abroad to obtain licenses.
- Allow paraprofessionals to do more, freeing M.D.s for the work requiring the most training.
And how to make it possible?
- Drastically reduce the ability of lobbyists for big-money interests and major campaign donors to influence legislation and the actions of the executive branch.
[1] https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2025/11/health-at-a-gla...