Health Care PublicPolicy - Assignment Example

During the mid-2000s, the American Hospital Association (AHA) predicts that the United States would experience a shortage of employees serving the healthcare department. These workers include physicians, nurses, dentists, and medical interns. The healthcare workers shortages observed is due to the increased growth seen in the population, the high number of aging patients such as the baby boomers and the rise in the number and occurrence of chronic diseases. This essay will explore the causes, which are responsible for the shortage of healthcare workers in the US, and remedies that have been put in place to help alleviate the shortage.

It is important for the government to understand and identify the causes of healthcare workers shortages. Identifications of such shortages enable for effective planning and coming up with solutions to curb the rise in healthcare workers shortages effectively. The following are some of the causes that were determined to contribute to the scarcity of healthcare workers in the US. The increase in the demand for healthcare in the US is a great contributor to healthcare workers shortages. The demand increase is due to the rising population numbers (putting more pressure on the strained healthcare services), a large number of the US population growing old, and a large number of chronic diseases recurring often.

For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau projected that the population growth of the U.S. will increase by 13 percent while the aging population will compromise 20 percent of the population by 2030. On the other hand, 50 percent of the population will be suffering from chronic diseases (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010). These statistics show the massive demand for the healthcare givers that will be required in a few years. The current shortage being experienced will thus be magnified in a few years time.

There is an inadequate growth