US doctor shortage poses national security threat

The United States is on track to face a shortage of roughly 187,000 physicians within the next decade, with nearly half of that gap concentrated in primary care, according to an opinion piece published by The Hill. The Hill argues the crisis is largely self-inflicted, tracing it to a 1997 federal policy that froze Medicare funding for graduate medical education, capping residency slots even as America’s population grew and aged.

The report criticizes America’s reliance on recruiting doctors from developing nations as unsustainable and ethically questionable, warning that foreign medical training often lacks the rigor of U.S. institutions.

The Hill calls for lifting the residency cap, expanding state-funded medical schools, and treating physician training with the urgency once reserved for major national mobilizations.