Monterey, CA Primary Care Physician Shortage Predicted Due To Affordable Care Act

New research which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will result in a shortage in primary care physicians.  Some people will have longer wait times to get into a doctor while low income residents who were put on Medicaid will have difficulty finding services if they look for a primary physician.  This comes as no surprise.  Even having Medicare coverage, it's difficult to get a new primary physician in Monterey because of low reimbursement rates.  The study suggests that more education and training is needed so we can develop more nurse practitioners and physicians assistances in order to deal with the shortage of doctors.  Other models like retail clinics also show promise for alleviating the shortage.