Healthcare Financial News

U.S. medical schools continue to expand their enrollment to meet the country's increasing demand for physicians, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). First-year enrollment at the nation's medical schools this year increased nearly 2 percent over 2007, to more than 18,000 students--the highest enrollment in history.

"In a time of great economic uncertainty, interest in the healing profession of medicine remains stable," said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "As medical schools expand to meet the nation's demand for more doctors, there will be even more opportunities for the most qualified and well-rounded aspiring doctors to pursue rewarding careers in medicine."

After a five-year increase in applicants to medical schools, the number of applicants leveled off this year at more than 42,200. While the overall applicant pool is one of the largest in more than a decade, the number of first-time applicants decreased by 3 percent. On average, there were more than 2 applicants for every available opening at a medical school.

View enrollment data for 2008.

A slumping economy, declining tax revenues, and turbulent financial markets are forcing many states to consider deep budget cuts. Bold new proposals--including a sweeping healthcare reform plan in California--have also fallen by the wayside, reports an article in Stateline.org, a project of the Pew Center on the States.

The article reports that, in addition to stalled healthcare reform in California, proposals to extend healthcare insurance in Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania also failed to gain traction. Next month, legislators in New York will convene in a special session to consider whether reductions are needed in a plan to cover almost 400,000 additional children in the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Despite the bad news in many states, the article notes that modest gains in healthcare reform were achieved in such states as Maine, Iowa, Colorado, and Florida.