Colorado doctor shortage: Not even Denver has enough health workers

Back in the 1980s and ’90s, the country expected an oversupply of physicians, and medical schools cut back in response, said Shoshana Weissman, a fellow at the think tank R Street Institute. That set up the current situation, where essentially all states have shortages somewhere, she said.

Colorado has taken some important steps, such as allowing physician associates to practice without a doctor’s supervision, Weissman said. The state could do more, though, including making it easier for immigrants who were providers in their home countries to find suitable jobs here and allowing pharmacists to provide more routine health services, she said.

“Anything they’re trained to do, they should be allowed to do,” she said.