State must do more to bring in doctors

Not that we needed a reminder, but the past two years have driven home just how vital local doctors are to our state’s well-being. Connecticut has weathered the coronavirus pandemic as well as any state, with most metrics since the advent of vaccines showing the state recording deaths and hospitalizations below national averages. But at the outset, when New York City and other international travel destinations served as entry points for the virus, Connecticut sustained a devastating blow.

Doctors and other medical professionals were asked to carry an exceptionally heavy load, and responded to the call. But amid the thanks offered to those in life-saving professions was the underlying reality that it’s not easy to be a doctor in Connecticut.

“The burdens of care during the COVID pandemic have stretched an already thin margin even further,” Dr. Timothy Siegrist, president of the Connecticut Urology Society, said in testimony before the state General Assembly this week. “We are seeing record numbers of providers of all types planning to reduce care or leave practice entirely.”

Siegrist and other doctors were testifying in support of a bill up for debate this session that would, among other measures, establish a physician loan reimbursement grant program. To be granted eligibility, a person would need to be licensed and employed in the state and have either graduated from a medical school in the state or completed a medical residency program at a licensed Connecticut hospital.

The bill also proposes a physician recruitment grant program that would offer $20,000 for doctors who relocate to Connecticut as full-time providers for at least two years, as well as establish a task force to review the state’s medical malpractice policies.

The high cost of living in Connecticut comes up in a variety of contexts, and even among high-earning professions such as physician, it can be a detriment. For one thing, doctors nearly always come out of school deeply in debt, and when that much more of their salary needs to go toward paying for a place to live, it serves as a severe disincentive.

Connecticut has as solid a pipeline of young doctors as any state could ask, with medical schools at major universities graduating new physicians every year who have a lot of choices about where they want to land. Keeping them in Connecticut should be a priority for lawmakers, both for their earning power and contribution to the state economy as well as for the irreplaceable services they provide.

As reported by the CT Mirror, a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that the nation is due to see a doctor shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 primary care and specialty care physicians by 2034. Such a deficit would put health care services at risk with a particular hit in marginalized communities, rural areas and low-income neighborhoods. Connecticut is far from alone in facing such challenges.

That’s why it’s important to act. Other states will surely be passing legislation aimed at bringing doctors in, and Connecticut should not be left behind.

“The burdens of care during the COVID pandemic have stretched an already thin margin even further.”

Dr. Timothy Siegrist, president of the Connecticut Urology Society