[_DeadFred_]

Our system isn't this resource constrained though. Our system has evolved unintentionally to allocate things this way, but our system does in fact have the resources. In fact, we have so much resources/efficiency/excess we have all kinds of labs/practices doing all kind of optional procedures across the entire country. So many that wait times are really really low for those elective procedures.

Example. I live in a mountain town. Our ER takes hours. I can go to one of the multiple nearby doc in a boxes and get seen in 15 minutes. My town HAS the resources to see those people waiting in the ER. We just don't allocated the resources that way.

My town is a ski town. We have WAY more orthopedic surgeons than we need, but it's extra profitable for them here and living rich in a remote ski town is nice.

My tiny town has multiple beauty skincare facilities with licensed doctors on staff.

It's not a 'we don't have resources' it's a 'we don't prioritize these lives'.

Which is fine. But don't lie to us and say there aren't medical resources.

[tptacek]

You also have way more orthopedic surgeons because the AMA lobbied to require primary care physicians to go through the same rigorous residency track as specialists do, where before they could begin practice after a year, and so there's almost no incentive to enter primary care medicine directly anymore; it's the same cost and effort as becoming a cardiologist, but less pay.