Vox
Michael Bloomberg last week gave $1 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to make medical school free for most students there.
Free Medical School Won’t Solve the Doctor Shortage
It’s a well-meaning gesture, aiming to remedy America’s doctor shortages that have left more than 100 million Americans without access to regular primary care, particularly in rural and low-income communities. “By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about — and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most,” Bloomberg said in a statement…
…When you hear there is a shortage of physicians, you probably think: Okay, I get it, America doesn’t have enough doctors overall. Right?
“That question in and of itself is not decided,” Gaetano Forte, assistant director of SUNY Albany’s Center for Health Workforce Studies, told me.