Why is There a Doctor Shortage in America?

Why does it take forever to get a doctor's appointment? The short answer is that there aren't enough physicians to go around. The slightly longer answer … is that we did this intentionally. By 2036, America is projected to have up to 86,000 fewer doctors than it needs. Which raises an obvious question: why don't we just train more of them? Finishing medical school isn't enough to practice in America. You also need a residency — years of hands-on training at a hospital — and almost every residency slot in the country is paid for by the federal government. In 1997, Congress capped how many of those spots it would fund, because at the time the experts were convinced the country was about to have too many doctors. Funding has been stuck near those '90s levels ever since, even as the population grew by nearly 70 million. In 2025, more than 9,000 qualified medical-school graduates couldn't get a residency. Without one, they can't legally practice, no matter how good they are. 📝 SCRIPT 📚 ADDITIONAL READING ✅ SOURCES AND MORE at https://kiteandkey.media/3TmukK1 The world is complicated … but the explanations don’t have to be. ⚡ New videos every Wednesday. SUBSCRIBE to Kite & Key on YouTube: https://bit.ly/YouTubeKiteAndKey FOLLOW Kite & Key on your favorite social channel: https://www.facebook.com/kiteandkeymedia https://www.twitter.com/kiteandkeymedia https://www.instagram.com/kiteandkeymedia/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/kite-and-key-media/ https://www.tiktok.com/@kiteandkeymedia https://www.threads.net/@kiteandkeymedia