LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas' surgeon general said he's worried that the state won't have enough medical providers to care for the thousands of newly insured covered under the federal health care overhaul.
Dr. Joe Thompson told a legislative panel on Wednesday that between 80 and 90 percent of the state's 500,000 uninsured will become covered under the health care law. Thompson said most of those will come from an expansion of the Medicaid program.
He told lawmakers the influx of new insured patients will worsen the state's shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas. Thompson said that the state needs to look at ways to provide incentives for doctors to work in underserved areas.