Texas Is Running Out of Doctors

The Lone Star state has a serious shortage of primary care doctors and other essential family health providers.

From urban areas to rural Texas, the problem is getting worse. More and more families can’t get the care they need.

House Bill 2154 will help bring family health providers to where they are needed most.

The Problem

Texas families are waiting weeks or months for a doctor's appointment, traveling further to get there and spending less time with their doctor if they even get to see a physician.

It’s forcing more people needing basic care to crowded emergency rooms. That’s driving up the cost of healthcare for everyone and putting more strain on governments to control tax rates.

Health Professional Shortages Area (HPSA)
Shortages Map
114 Texas counties are classified as HPSAs
Texas Department of State Health Services Health Professionals Resource Center
credit: Texas Primary Care Coalition

The growing demand for primary care providers in Texas far outstrips the supply. Educational loans, low wages and fights with insurance companies are turning growing numbers of students away from the field.

Provider shortages are not limited to rural areas of the state. Inner-city and border communities are without adequate access to primary and preventive care.

In these areas, Texans seeking basic healthcare are forced to travel to the nearest doctor many miles away or turn to highly expensive emergency room care. Countless others simply go without care.

The Crisis Grows

The Texas family care provider shortage is a problem that is getting worse as fewer medical students choose primary care.

Number of Family Medicine Residency Positions Filled by U.S. Medical Grads
Residency Chart
Credit: National Resident Matching Program

A recent survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found:

  • Only 2 percent of medical students plan to go into primary care.
  • Since 1997, the number of medical school graduates going into primary care has dropped 50 percent.

The skyrocketing cost of medical education is one of the main reasons. The average medical school graduate carries a debt of more than $130,000 in student loans. Average dental school debt reaches $160,000. Medical students are choosing more often to go into higher paying specialty fields.

Photo Doc Girl Ear Exam

More than half of Texas counties, including many urban counties, need more family care providers

  • 26 Texas counties have no primary care physician
  • 18 Texas counties have only one primary care physician
  • 46 Texas counties have no dentist

Department of State Health Services 2008

Texas will need 4,500 additional primary care providers by 2015

National Association of Community Health Centers 2008

The Solution

Photo Doc Patient

HB 2154 is the action needed to address a shortage of doctors, particularly those who practice primary care.

The legislation would establish a system that encourages doctors to practice in areas where they’re needed most. The result will be greater access to health care for all Texans

HB 2154 would generate funding to assist primary care physicians in paying off student loans amassed during training.

FQHC graph: Growth in Patients Served
FQHC Chart

The loan repayment program would be available for doctors who practice in medically underserved areas across Texas. The repayment program will attract physicians annually to the state’s Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), including many in urban centers.

The HB 2154 will bring more physicians to federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs) across Texas. These health centers are safety-net providers who serve the uninsured and many publicly insured Texans. They are located in federally designated “medically underserved areas.”

Funding Mechanism

Funding for HB 2154 would come from a restructuring of the tobacco tax, closing a current loophole on smokeless tobacco products.

Closing the loophole is estimated to generate more than $90 million over the next two years for the Texas Health Care Access Fund.

More information about the funding mechanism (PDF).

Additional Resources

Do you live in a health provider shortage area?
Primary Care Physicians by County
Dentists by County
National Association of Community Health Centers
Access Transformed: Study finds not enough primary care doctors to meet the need
Association of American Medical Colleges
Medical students in debt up 85%
The Robert Graham Center
What influences medical student & resident choices?
Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP)
Sin taxes as a way to raise additional revenue
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Levels of smokeless tobacco use increase among adolescents
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Smokeless Tobacco Health Effects
University of Minnesota-Division of Periodontology
75% of smokeless tobacco users start by 9th grade

News

News Releases

Extras

Get Involved

Contact your representative in the Texas Legislature by email, letter, fax or phone and encourage them to support Texas Health Care Access Fund and the HB 2154.

Easily send a message to your legislators.

Find your representatives and their contact information.

More Information

José E. Camacho, JD
Jcamacho@tachc.org
Texas Association of Community Health Centers
5900 Southwest Parkway, Building 3
Austin, TX 78741
Phone: 512-329-5959
Fax: 512-329-9189
Katie Coburn, MPH
kcoburn@tachc.org
Texas Association of Community Health Centers
5900 Southwest Parkway, Building 3
Austin, TX 78741
Phone: 512-329-5959
Fax: 512-329-9189
Tom Banning
TBanning@tafp.org
Texas Academy of Family Physicians
12012 Technology Blvd., Ste. 200
Austin, TX 78727
Phone: 512-329-8666
Fax: 512-329-8237

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