Pulling Together
I have been on many teams. I have coached a few. When we all pull together, we can beat bigger foes.
The Idaho legislature is not a good team right now. They seem to be pulling against each other. Maybe that’s how democracy is supposed to work. Maybe it’s up to us to see the goal, work toward it, and win, for all of us.
This last session Idaho’s medical training of doctors (MD’s…there are other “doctors”) came under deep scrutiny. Idaho is involved with the University of Washington and other states to train MD’s. It’s the WWAMI program.
There were bills introduced to sever ties with UW. The final bill that passed, HB 368a, said we would stay in the partnership, but only provisionally.
UW and WWAMI are widely recognized for quality.
While the Idaho legislature was working to dump Idaho’s affiliation, the statistic they pointed to most often, and the one you’ll see on the social media feeds is that Idaho sits at the bottom for doctors per capita. The legislature seems to be wringing their hands about being at the bottom of the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
But only when it comes to our UW affiliation.
At the same time they cut proposed funding for doctors who might come here to serve underserved areas (most of Idaho).
And cut Medicaid physician payments.
And they have put a gun to the head of doctors caring for complicated pregnant women.
If the Idaho legislature truly wants more doctors in the state, they need to pull together.
I agree with my conservative colleagues, there must be something more going on behind the scenes.
Here we come to the nut. And that’s what makes a team or sends you screaming for the exit.
What in fact do we want?
If we want more doctors in Idaho, we could do lots to make that happen. Given the sum of their actions, I argue the legislature is not interested in more doctors. There must be some other teapot tempest they are wringing their hands about.
I’m honestly just guessing here about what the Idaho legislature wants.
We should just forget about them.
The real question is what do we here in Idaho want?
Do we want more doctors?
Do we want good access to healthcare?
Do we want healthy communities?
Take those three questions and prioritize them. For they don’t all mean the same thing.
Massachusetts has the most doctors per capita, threefold more than Idaho.
But it takes an average of 70 days to get in to see a doctor in Boston. That’s the worst of any area surveyed.
Further, Massachusetts only ranks as the 12th “healthiest” state in another survey. Idaho, with our paltry supply of physicians ranks 16th.
The data says, having more doctors doesn’t necessarily give one better access, or make healthier communities.
So why is the Idaho legislature suddenly all twisted shorts about the number of doctors?
Back when I was a young WAMI (1985), Idaho had 12.1 doctors/ 10,000 residents. We were comparable with Mississippi and Alabama.
We were a poor state, like them. Many doctors don’t want to work where the patients are poor. Don’t forget, medicine in this country is a business, and doctors are businessmen.
Now we are a tiny bit richer. And we have 17 doctors/10,000 people. We’ve come up.
I’m sorry about all these numbers. There’s really just one big take away.
More doctors doesn’t mean healthier people or better access.
If you want healthier, you will have to look bigger. I would argue a guy very important to our health might be sitting in our local water treatment plant.
If you want more doctors, you will also have to look bigger.
I am glad the Idaho legislature has decided they need a broader perspective. I hope we are all served.