> For example, the AMA regulates the physician supply by influencing policies of medical schools. This is a common misconception that keeps popping up again an

> For example, the AMA regulates the physician supply by influencing policies of medical schools. This is a common misconception that keeps popping up again and again. Reposting a comment from just four days ago: The AMA is a common scapegoat, except that the AMA has literally nothing to do with the number of of doctors supply-side. You're probably thinking of the AAMC, which has nothing to do with the AMA, and is responsible for the number of medical students who graduate each year from the US. Except the AAMC has very deliberately and openly increased the number of medical student slots each year for over a decade, specifically with this goal in mind. But even this is a moot point, because the number of people gradating with MDs is not the bottleneck - the problem is that doctors can't practice medicine until they complete a residency program. We graduate more medical students every year than we have residency slots available, so increasing the number of graduates even further will have no effect. Increasing the number of residency slots is up to Medicare, because Medicare funds residency programs nationwide, as residency programs do not make enough money to sustain themselves otherwise.