Study finds New York worst state for doctors

March 29--Tweet

A recently released report calls New York the worst state to be a doctor in the U.S.

According to Wallethub, New York doctors have high competition, few opportunities, and are likely to experience backlash in their work when compared to the rest of the country.

Analysts at personal finance website used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and eight other institution to compare 14 career indicators for doctors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The 14 indicators tracked were selected to reflect a doctor's opportunities and level of competition, and the medical environment in each state. Each indicator is worth a weighted number of points, with a perfect score being 70 points.

Iowa was ranked the best state in the country to be a doctor, with a score of 68.67. New York scored 28.49/70.

On average, largely rural states scored better than those with large urban populations, like New York, D.C., and New Jersey -- the lowest ranking states.

While cities offer more opportunities for doctors to be high earners, competitive work environments and disproportionately high costs of living may counter the benefits.

The report ranks New York 49th for annual wage when adjusted for cost of living, and dead last for both malpractice award payout amount per capita and cost of annual malpractice liability insurance.

Also taken into account is the number of patients per physician in a state. Many rural areas in New York state, like the north country, are considered health professional shortage areas for their lack of primary care providers and other medical professionals.

As of 2017, Manhattan has 60 percent fewer people per physician than the state average of 1,200 to one.

Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Oswego counties each count fewer physicians, dentists and mental health professionals than the state's averaged with one exception -- Jefferson County has around 10 percent fewer people per dentist.

There are more than two times as many people per primary care physician in Oswego County than the state average, and just under two times as many in Jefferson County, St. Lawrence County has over twice as many people per dentist, and Lewis has an astounding 3.5 times as many. When it comes to mental health care, there are twice as many people per provider in Oswego County and 1.5 times as many in Jefferson County.

Manhattan has far more physicians across the board.

While "physician" is the most popular profession among the top 1 percent of high earners, according to an American Community Survey in 2014, the average medical school graduate leaves school with more than $189,000 in debt.

Population per Primary Care Physician

State Average: 1,200

Jefferson County: 2,050

Lewis County: 1,700

Oswego County: 2,630

St. Lawrence County: 1,890

Manhattan: 720

Population per Dentist

State Average: 1,270

Jefferson County: 1,160

Lewis County: 4,490

Oswego County: 2,270

St. Lawrence County: 2,780

Manhattan: 580

Population per Mental Health Provider

State Average: 420

Jefferson County: 640

Lewis County: 460

Oswego County: 900

St. Lawrence County: 600

Manhattan: 140

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