Why the U.S. Doesn't Have Enough Physicians

…doctors profit by restricting access to medical care. Specifically, they maintain their market power most effectively via artificial constraints on the number of residency positions and the ability of non-physicians to treat patients. - Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick, The Everywhere Millionaire: Who is Really Rich in America and How They Got There (2026)

Artificial constraints on the number of residency positions leads to a shortage of physicians, and that what we have:

And a shortage of physicians leads directly to higher spending on healthcare - much higher than what other countries spend:

Next: How loosening constraints on the ability of non-physicians to treat patient puts us on the path to a viable universal healthcare system in the US.