DACA Repeal is Bad for Medical Students, Healthcare, and the Public

BY SUHAS GONDI The Trump administration’s recent announcement to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has instilled fear and outrage in communities across the country. As a medical student with friends and classmates with DACA status, I am particularly disappointed in the poor and compassionless judgment of our nation’s leader. I fear for my peers who have worked incredibly hard and overcome the most daunting of obstacles to get where they are today, and who now could see it all taken away from them. Their now tenuous situation is unimaginable to me. But I also fear the impact of this decision on my non-DACA classmates, on our training, and on our futures. There is certainly a moral case to keep DACA alive, but the effects of its repeal on the healthcare system writ large make apparent that it’s also a bad idea for all Americans. The American Medical Association (AMA) letter to Congress spells out many of the reasons why. Study after study has shown that, due to multiple demographic changes, physician demand will far outpace supply over the next decade. By 2030, the US will face an estimated shortfall of up to 104,900 physicians. Even now, we are witnessing how a lack of doctors in rural and other federally designated Health Professional Shortage areas results in inadequate access to care for too many, and directly contributes to worse health. As AMA CEO James Madara wrote in the letter, “the DACA initiative could help introduce 5,400 previous...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs