Need a Doctor? Avoid Texas!

[Vonne]

27 Texas counties have no doctor
114 of the 254 counties have been designated by the federal government as primary care shortage areas.

A shortage of primary care physicians in Texas is expected to worsen as doctors go into more lucrative specialties.  There are 27 Texas counties that have no doctor at all, including Motley County in the Panhandle.  The CEO of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Tom Banning, said that the number of primary care doctors the state produces hasn't kept pace with its birth rate and the influx of residents from other states.  In Texas, 114 of the 254 counties have been designated by the federal government as primary care shortage areas. Some clinics spend months trying to lure doctors, and some patients drive one or two counties away for even the most routine health care.

KLBJ 590 AM News Radio

[Vonne]

While it's likely understandable, to a degree, with how rural some counties in Texas are.  It's still a bit of a shocking figure, if accurate.

[JohnBrowdie]

not to throw rocks, but motley county has a whole host of problems, including a declining yet aging population, and, I can only infer from their economic profile, a declining private sector economy.

there are some problems that the free market can't completely solve (and don't think for a second that nationalized health care is going to do anything but screw it up worse), and a population distribution of about 1 person per square mile is certainly one of them.