Florida TaxWatch spotlights ‘alarming shortage’ of physicians, offers solutions

With more than 800 new residents arriving every day, Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation. It also has one of the largest shares of senior citizens in the country.

Demand for health care is only going to increase. Which is why the Sunshine State should act now to address its existing physician shortage so that it doesn’t grow unmanageable in the coming years, research shows.

Florida TaxWatch released Addressing Florida’s Escalating Physician Shortage: Strategies and Solutions, a 24-page report detailing research on the problem and proposing possible fixes.

Key among the report’s observations: While the number of active physicians in Florida rose by nearly 30% in the past decade, the state is still on track to only meet two-thirds of residents’ physician needs by 2030.

One study suggested Florida will need to fill 22,000 vacancies by then to tackle the issue — a tall order considering physicians’ education and training takes at least a decade.

“There’s no time to waste when it comes to addressing the already alarming shortage of health care professionals in Florida,” Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro said in a Thursday statement.

The good news is lawmakers have taken notice. In a Nov. 9 memo, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said her focus for the 2024 Legislative Session would be to grow Florida’s health care workforce, increase access and incentivize innovation.

She cited population estimates projecting that over the next five years, Florida will welcome more than 300,000 new residents per year.

“That is like adding a city slightly smaller than Orlando, but larger than St. Petersburg every year,” she said. “It is clear to me that we have work to do to make sure Florida’s health care workforce is growing — just like the rest of our state.”

Last month, Passidomo unveiled a nearly 240-page proposal called “Live Healthy” that contemplates spending close to $1 billion on a wave of health care initiatives, from pricing transparency and freestanding advance birthing centers to forgivable loans for doctors and nurses and who do volunteer service.

By far the biggest chunk of the package’s planned spending — about $870 million — would go toward building up Florida’s health care workforce and infrastructure.

On Thursday, less than a week into Session, “Live Healthy” and a related bill cleared their last committee stop. They now await Senate floor votes.

Other ways to improve things, Florida TaxWatch said, include:

— Updating the annual Florida Department of Health Physician Workforce survey to include questions about retention to help policymakers craft targeted solutions and monitor outcomes.

— Increasing slots for high-quality, prestigious general medical education programs by investing state dollars into expanding established residency programs.

— Alleviating the strain on physicians by incentivizing the incorporation of telehealth technology, including remote monitoring, with the delivery of primary care.

— Expanding the scope of practice for advanced practice registered nurses to specialties beyond primary care.

— Reviewing Florida’s medical legal landscape with a focus on lowering insurance premiums.

“The physician shortage is a national crisis,” the report’s authors wrote.

“Florida will not only need to focus on how to satisfy its demand with limited supply but also how to keep its supply of new physicians from being drafted to different states. As desperate states across the country consider how to expand their physician supplies, Florida will need to keep pace, and keep a vigilant eye for new policies and incentives to keep pace with the increased need for health care professionals.”