MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -
Could your doctor call it quits? Some worry they will after the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Health Care Act.
President Obama's healthcare bill has some local doctors weighing their options on whether to stay in the medical field.
They believe the cost of doing business won't be worth the outcome--especially older doctors who are already close to retirement.
Politics aside, Dr. J. Allen Meadows believes one thing is for sure when it comes to the President's healthcare bill.
"I know a lot of physicians, particularly ones who are a little bit older than I am. Their plan for when things begin to be implemented in 2014 is to retire."
He's concerned 1/3 of doctors in the tri-county area will say goodbye to the medical field simply because they don't want to spend the money to comply with new federal regulations this late in their careers.
"Even if 20-30% of our physicians over 50 or 55 decide to stop practicing medicine, we're going to have a serious shortage of physicians in the tri-county area."
"That is a concern because you have a relationship with your doctor and you know your doctor and your doctor knows you and there's a comfort there with them," says Montgomery resident Tamara Card.
Card is watching what happens in the next few years as the healthcare law becomes reality, mostly because her daughter has diabetes and is often at the doctor's office.
"That's something you definitely want to have an expertise in is when you're choosing a doctor and when you're going to a doctor," says Card.
Physicians like Meadows believe if seasoned doctors quit, consumers will feel the pinch.
It doesn't help when folks like Bob Lavender say his granddaughter chose not to pursue her passion.
"Her step father is a surgeon and advised her not to go into the medical profession," says Lavender.
That's why Meadows says healthcare bill or not, he's a doctor for the long haul.
"Even if the Supreme Court had made changes, there are gonna be changes in healthcare that are gonna happen in my lifetime and during my career as a practicing physician. I'm making preparations for those changes."
Meadows is also concerned that if physicians start leaving the industry, recruiting new ones to Alabama may be a challenge. He says states like Georgia and cities like Pensacola, Florida are typically more profitable for doctors.
WSFA 12 News reached out to the Medical Association of Alabama and the Alabama Hospital Association. Neither were available for comment.
Copyright 2012 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.
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