Can't Practice Medicine Under These Circumstances

Doctors are more mobile than most people.

The legislature has confidently steered the state, which already had the fewest active physicians in the country, into an unprecedented shortage of doctors. This situation also has alarming repercussions for its neighbors who have already had to deal with the consequences. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Inslee complained about Idaho patients “clogging up” Washington’s hospitals.

Beginning with the establishment of a trigger ban in 2020 in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Idaho’s health care providers saw what they would be up against. Many doctors have decided not to gamble with the risks inherent in treating pregnancy complications.

In March, Bonner General Hospital in the northern Idaho town of Sandpoint shut down its obstetrics department, citing issues including decreases in annual deliveries as well as the loss of pediatricians to handle various stages of perinatal care including immediately before and after delivery. Attempts to secure other active and retired medical professionals on an on-call basis did not yield any workable solutions.