This is a rush transcript from "Your World," February 25, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: All right, now, that may be funny, but this is actually no joke, another state, another doctor shortage, and this time it's Florida.
And my next guest says that the president's health care law is only making matters worse. Rebecca O'Hara is with the Florida Medical Association.
Rebecca, what's going on there?
REBECCA O'HARA, VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, FLORIDA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Well, we -- what we're seeing is an echo of what's going on nationally, except for Florida has some unique concerns that make it stand out with respect to physician work force shortage issues.
We have got a large number of people in the state of Florida that are over the age of 65. We have got a pretty large uninsured population. We have also got a large percentage of folks on Medicare in the state of Florida.
And so the factors that other states in the nation are experiencing with respect to physician shortages are also being felt in Florida, but more so.
CAVUTO: Now, there are a lot of doctors already in Florida. That's not a surprise, giving the aging population that largely settles there, retires there.
But is it -- is it still not enough for that growing population or is it actually going in reverse, declining?
O'HARA: Well, the numbers of physicians in Florida, it is becoming a problem because a lot of physicians are retiring. And, quite frankly, it's an issue of just not being able to keep up with the demand.
CAVUTO: So the folks who retire and don't replace them or who just quit the profession altogether -- I don't know how it breaks down -- are they citing the law in particular, the administrative costs, just the -- you know, the paperwork, what?
O'HARA: Well, a lot remains to be resolved with how Obamacare will be implemented and so there's a lot of uncertainty.
And, as you know, for any person who is trying to make a business work, the last thing you need is an uncertain regulatory environment and an uncertain economic environment. And so the concerns that small businesses across Florida are experiencing are also being experienced by Florida's physician practices.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the uncertainties associated with it create a lot of uncertainty. Couple that with the number of physicians that are going to be retiring over the next couple years, and we have got a growing problem that increasingly the governor and the legislature are going to be forced to take a look at.
CAVUTO: All right, Rebecca, thank you very much. We will see what happens, Rebecca O'Hara, Florida Medical Association vice president of governmental affairs.
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