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HomeMinnesota Breaking NewsHow the Doctor Shortage Crisis in Minnesota Compares to Other States

How the Doctor Shortage Crisis in Minnesota Compares to Other States

imageForEntry11 81gThe United States has been battling a doctor shortage for a few years. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed just how big the problem is. Medical institutions have been warning that there could be a shortage of up to 124,000 primary care physicians and specialty care doctors nationwide within a decade, according to research by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

There is already a shortage in some places in the U.S., with rural areas disproportionately affected. If people living in rural communities, minorities, and those with no health insurance, had the same access to medical care as others have, the country would need an additional 180,400 doctors to meet demand. (These are the states where the most people don’t have health insurance.)

According to the 2021 State Physician Workforce Data Report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, there are 940,254 physicians actively practicing in the United States. Adjusting for population using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey, this comes out to 283.3 for every 100,000 people. And this number varies considerably by state.

In Minnesota, there are 17,617 active physicians, or 308.7 for every 100,000 people, the 12th most among states.

Other than a low supply of doctors, lack of health insurance can be another barrier to accessing care. An estimated 4.5% of Minnesota residents are uninsured, the fifth fewest among states. Meanwhile, 13.3% of adults across the state report being in less than optimal health, compared to 17.1% of adults nationwide.

Data on the percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health is from the 2022 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Data on the share of the population without health insurance came from the 2021 ACS and are one-year estimates.

Rank State Doctors per 100,000 people Total mumber of active physicians Adults in fair or poor health (%) Uninsured rate (%)
1 Idaho 184.3 3,504 15.1 8.8
2 Mississippi 198.5 5,857 22.0 11.9
3 Oklahoma 208.0 8,293 21.3 13.8
4 Wyoming 211.6 1,225 15.7 12.2
5 Nevada 214.1 6,731 20.1 11.6
6 Arkansas 214.8 6,500 24.1 9.2
7 Utah 215.6 7,198 14.8 9.0
8 Alabama 217.9 10,983 21.4 9.9
9 Iowa 221.0 7,056 13.6 4.8
10 Texas 227.5 67,182 20.9 18.0
11 Georgia 232.2 25,072 19.3 12.6
12 Kentucky 233.5 10,528 22.0 5.7
13 Indiana 233.9 15,918 18.9 7.5
14 Kansas 234.2 6,874 17.1 9.2
15 South Carolina 235.0 12,197 17.8 10.0
16 North Dakota 235.6 1,826 13.3 7.9
17 Nebraska 245.5 4,820 13.9 7.1
18 South Dakota 247.3 2,214 15.1 9.5
19 New Mexico 249.0 5,269 20.0 10.0
20 Montana 249.0 2,750 14.4 8.2
21 Arizona 252.1 18,343 18.3 10.7
22 Tennessee 253.6 17,687 20.3 10.0
23 North Carolina 262.1 27,650 18.5 10.4
24 Virginia 264.7 22,874 16.1 6.8
25 Florida 270.1 58,822 17.8 12.1
26 Wisconsin 271.0 15,975 15.0 5.4
27 Louisiana 271.6 12,557 21.7 7.6
28 West Virginia 275.6 4,914 24.3 6.1
29 Washington 280.8 21,731 15.7 6.4
30 Delaware 284.0 2,850 18.0 5.7
31 Alaska 286.8 2,101 15.7 11.4
32 California 289.8 113,718 17.8 7.0
33 Colorado 291.7 16,956 13.7 8.0
34 Illinois 293.0 37,122 17.1 7.0
35 Missouri 296.6 18,297 17.6 9.4
36 Michigan 298.9 30,040 18.2 5.0
37 Ohio 299.9 35,333 18.1 6.5
38 New Jersey 300.3 27,832 15.5 7.2
39 Minnesota 308.7 17,617 13.3 4.5
40 Oregon 309.2 13,127 17.4 6.1
41 Hawaii 316.1 4,557 15.3 3.9
42 New Hampshire 316.1 4,391 14.3 5.1
43 Pennsylvania 324.4 42,051 17.6 5.5
44 Maine 324.9 4,459 17.2 5.7
45 Connecticut 359.9 12,977 14.3 5.2
46 Rhode Island 370.8 4,063 16.3 4.3
47 Vermont 373.3 2,410 12.6 3.7
48 New York 381.9 75,749 16.4 5.2
49 Maryland 385.9 23,791 14.0 6.1
50 Massachusetts 459.8 32,116 13.4 2.5
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