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Sacramento created California’s doctor shortage — here’s how to fix it

Nypost · · 858 words · By Frances Mei Hardin
Insurance and Private Equity Impact Healthcare Workforce Retention Government accountability
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/08/opinion/sacramento-created-californias-doctor-shor…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Causal Oversimplification 80% confidence
Assuming a single cause for a complex issue.
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Appeal to Pity 70% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
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Oversimplification 70% confidence
Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 5
info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
report Misleading 1
info
“California leads the nation in doctor shortages.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While search results confirm California faces doctor shortages and specific regions are struggling, no evidence was found specifically stating that California 'leads the nation' (has the highest rate) in these shortages compared to other states.
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web search NEUTRAL — They also have some of California’s highest uninsured rates – exceeding 30 percent of residents in some counties, according to a 2009 UCLA study. That could mean the same counties already fighting doc…
https://www.kqed.org/stateofhealth/7043/california-faces-hea…
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web search NEUTRAL — We need doctors.” California’s far northern region is a collection of sparsely populated counties stretching from just north of Sacramento all the way up to Oregon and from the Pacific coast to the Ne…
https://www.comstocksmag.com/kaiser-health-news/health-care-…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 6, 2026. Yes, the United States faces a significant and growing shortage of doctors. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects the country will be short up to 86,000 physicians by 2036…
https://scienceinsights.org/is-there-a-doctor-shortage-in-th…
info
“A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of federal data shows that 6 million Californians live in Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), where less than half of the state’s primary care needs are being met.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Search results confirm KFF provides data on HPSAs and that millions of Americans live in such areas, but the specific figure of '6 million Californians' and the 'less than half of needs met' metric are not present in the provided evidence.
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web search NEUTRAL — Data used for primary care shortage designation are the population-to-provider ratio, the percent of the population earning below the Federal Poverty Level, the Infant Health Index, and the travel tim…
https://letsgethealthy.ca.gov/goals/redesigning-the-health-s…
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web search NEUTRAL — According to HRSA, 89.3 million Americans live in federally-designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, compared to 55.3 million Americans living in primary-care shortage areas and 44.6 mill…
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/stateline-mental-health-couns…
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web search NEUTRAL — State level data on Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) from KFF, the leading health policy organization in the U.S.Key Data on Health Care by Race and Ethnicity. DATABASES. State …
https://www.kff.org/other-health/state-indicator/primary-car…
info
“In the Inland Empire, the ratio of primary care physicians falls to as low as 35 per 100,000 residents.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions the Inland Empire's provider landscape is unconsolidated, but does not explicitly state the ratio of 35 per 100,000 residents. However, claim 4 is corroborated, suggesting this specific data set exists in the original source but wasn't fully mirrored in the search snippets.
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web search NEUTRAL — U.S. physicians per 10,000 people, 1850-2009. [failed verification]. Physicians are an important part of health care in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physicians_in_the_United_State…
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web search NEUTRAL — Data suggest the Inland Empire’s primary care and specialty care provider landscape remains relatively unconsolidated compared with the rest of California, with many indepen-dent physicians in solo or…
https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/RegionalMark…
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web search NEUTRAL — Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGg3JS4QDaA
verified
“The federal benchmark is 60 to 80 ber 100,000.”
VERIFIED
A UCSF study mentioned in the search results explicitly identifies the 'federally recommended threshold of 60-80 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents'.
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web search NEUTRAL — There are about 70,000 active primary care physicians in these lowest concentration counties and NP and PA add in to about 90,000 primary care equivalents.
https://blog.stfm.org/2017/11/20/it-is-time-to-serve-as-a-pr…
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web search NEUTRAL — Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a physician? Take a glimpse into a typical day for Dr. Andrea Patton, a primary care physician at HonorHealth Me...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD7hYMrJp-g
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web search NEUTRAL — We are filling fewer primary care spots for residency Fewer Primary Care Residency Spots Filled. Discover why fewer medical residents are choosing primary care, impacting healthcare access.
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/what-causes-primary-care-phy…
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“The San Joaquin Valley sits at 39 per 100,000.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm this specific number: kvpr.org explicitly states 'the Valley has 39 primary care physicians' per 100,000, and the California Physicians Almanac 2025 (chcf.org) identifies the San Joaquin Valley as not meeting the recommended supply.
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web search NEUTRAL — This series received a first place award in 2018 from the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ). Read more about that here.The San Joaquin Valley lacks doctors. For every 100,000 residents, th…
https://www.kvpr.org/struggling-for-care
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web search NEUTRAL — Physician supply varied by region. Out of nine regions in the state, four regions (Central Coast, Inland Empire, Northern and Sierra, and San Joaquin Valley) did not meet the recommended supply of pri…
https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PhysiciansAl…
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web search NEUTRAL — A UCSF study reported that only two regions in California meet the federally recommended threshold of 60-80 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents. The San Joaquin Valley, predictably, falls fa…
https://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2025/10/30/a-comprehensiv…
info
“The state’s own Legislative Analyst’s Office reported this February that the flagship residency expansion programs, Song-Brown and CalMedForce, have produced only limited gains in the number of resident slots.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Evidence confirms the existence of Song-Brown and CalMedForce and mentions retention rates, but does not provide the specific February report from the Legislative Analyst's Office regarding 'limited gains' in resident slots.
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web search NEUTRAL — Overview of California’s Physician Residency Grant Programs.Similarly, UC has reported in-state retention rates for residents supported by a CalMedForce grant of 87 percent. (HCAI has not publicly rep…
https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/health/2026/Overview-of-CA-Physi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Medicare has supported residency training since the program’s inception in 1965, but a cap imposed by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 has constrained the growth of GME ever since. Only small increment…
https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/ArticleId/50937/C…
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web search NEUTRAL — California cur-rently funds two GME programs: The Song-Brown Program and CalMedForce.The resulting program, CalMedForce, supports GME training in five specialties across public and pri-vate institutio…
https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/ExplainerRol…
report
“A 2025 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, led by researchers at UC San Francisco with colleagues at Yale and UCLA, tracked more than 712,000 physicians and found that clinical attrition rose from 3.5 percent in 2013 to 4.9 percent in 2019 — a 40 percent jump in six years.”
MISLEADING
The evidence found in 'Trends in and Predictors of Physician Attrition' confirms the attrition increase from 3.8% to 4.9% between 2013 and 2019, but specifies this was for 'emergency medicine', not the general physician population of 712,000. The claim generalizes a specialty-specific stat to all physicians.
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web search NEUTRAL — PHYSICIAN ATTRITION WORSENING 1) Physician attrition rates rising: emergency medicine annual attrition increased from 3.8% (2013) to 4.9% (2019); 21% of oncologists who billed in 2015 stopped by 2022.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/iqity_trends-in-and-predictor…
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web search NEUTRAL — This finding may have implications for both clinical assessment and rehabilitation strategies. From a clinical standpoint, routine assessment of hip internal rotation ROM may help identify patients at…
https://acamedicine.org/article/10-4328-acam-50054/
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web search NEUTRAL — Physicians spend on average just over 16 minutes on electronic health records (EHRs) for each patient visit, according to a new study. That adds up to a significant portion of a physician’s day, accor…
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/practices/for-each-patient-…
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“A 2025 MedCentral survey of more than 1,100 physicians found that 35 percent had considered leaving clinical medicine since the start of 2025.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent search results explicitly confirm that a MedCentral survey found 35% of physicians have considered leaving medical practice since the start of 2025.
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web search NEUTRAL — Over one-third – 35% – said they have considered leaving medical practice since the start of 2025. Among those who have considered leaving this year, the top reason given was personal burnout, followe…
https://www.medcentral.com/reports/medical-practice-physicia…
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web search NEUTRAL — More than one-third of physicians (35%) who responded to a MedCentral survey said they have considered leaving medical practice since the start of 2025. Among those considering leaving, the top reason…
https://www.medcentral.com/biz-policy/survey-shows-one-third…
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web search NEUTRAL — 2025 athenahealth Physician Sentiment Survey. The 2025 report (also a national survey, similar methodology) highlights financial and operational anxiety. Key takeaways: A majority of physicians say th…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/physician-sentiment-index-arl…
help
“A McKinsey analysis put the five-year exit number at 35 percent, and roughly 60 percent of those intend to leave clinical practice entirely, rather than switch employers.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding a McKinsey analysis of physician exit rates.
help
“The American Medical Association’s 2024 prior authorization survey found that a single physician consumes the equivalent of 12 hours of physician and staff time each week on “prior auth” for insurance purposes.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding the 2024 AMA prior authorization survey and the 12-hour figure.
schedule
“Ninety-five percent of physicians say it contributes to their burnout.”
PENDING
schedule
“Forty percent of practices now employ staff dedicated solely to filing paperwork against insurance companies that already collected their premiums.”
PENDING
schedule
“A 2024 Health Affairs study found that PE-acquired physician practice sites grew from 816 in 2012 to 5,779 by 2021, with a single PE firm holding more than 50 percent market share in 50 specialty-and-metro markets.”
PENDING
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“A separate 2024 Health Affairs analysis of ophthalmology practices found that physician turnover jumped 13 percentage points after PE acquisition — a 265 percent increase relative to comparable practices.”
PENDING
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“Newsom vetoed AB 3129, the bill that would have brought attorney-general scrutiny to private-equity health care acquisitions.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.