About 42% of the county’s residents seek care outside the county, according to doctors and health care providers speaking to the Prince George’s County Council.
Primary care physicians are in short supply in communities across the country, but in Prince George’s County, Maryland, the shortage is especially acute.
About 42% of Prince George’s County residents seek care outside the county, according to doctors and health care providers speaking before the Prince George’s County Council on Monday as the Board of Health.
According to data presented at the meeting, the county has a shortage of 1,050 primary care doctors, compared to state averages.
“There’s no doctor I see in my district, to be honest with you. As many of you know, I couldn’t even deliver in Prince George’s County when I had my child,” District 7 Council member Krystal Oriadha said during the hearing. Her district includes the areas of District Heights, Capitol Heights, Hillcrest Heights, Seat Pleasant and Suitland.
Nate Apathy, assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, told council members that one in eight of the county’s “nonelderly” residents is uninsured. According to data he provided, 43,700 county residents qualify for Medicaid and 51,600 are “potentially” eligible for premium tax credits through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
“If we want to think about how we divvy up our resources geographically, it’s worth thinking about where these challenges are concentrated,” Apathy said, adding that the majority of those eligible people live in District 2 and 3.
The shortage of primary care doctors also drives emergency room visits, according to Dr. Leslie Jones, chief medical officer of Howard University’s Faculty Practice Plan and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the university’s College of Medicine.
“You can show up to the emergency room at one of the hospitals in the county or surrounding area and wait over two hours before being evaluated,” Jones said, adding that it’s the longest wait time in the state.
Another issue contributing to the shortage of primary care providers, Roxanne Leiba Lawrence with Luminis Health said, is the cost of attracting primary care doctors.
“The challenge that we have is the investment in primary care,” Leiba Lawrence said. “It costs us about $250,000 to recruit, hire and onboard a primary care physician.”
District 6 Council member Wala Blegay told WTOP that attracting primary care facilities would require funding from the county, but given the current economic climate and the county’s limited tax base, it will likely have to look to Annapolis for funding.
“We need to make a really big pitch to the state,” Blegay said.
And Blegay realizes that’s a big ask: “It will be difficult right now,” she added.
With primary care in short supply in the county, Blegay said, patients may delay getting care when they need it most.
She said with more accessible health care, outcomes could be improved, and that the county will continue exploring ways to get more providers inside its borders.
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