A Dearth of Sawbones in the Silver State

Congresswoman Lee Rides to the Rescue

It has long been observed that Nevada is a land of great expanses and small mercies, and nowhere is this more evident than in its physician supply, where a man is more likely to meet a coyote on the road than a doctor in an office. Congresswoman Susie Lee, taking pity upon the afflicted and the soon-to-be, has introduced a bipartisan bill to correct this scarcity of sawbones before the state must resort to witch doctors and snake charmers.

Speaking at the University Medical Center, flanked by grave-faced representatives of the healthcare industry—who, one suspects, were there to ensure no one mistook this for a charity endeavor—Lee expounded upon Nevada’s ignoble ranking of 45th in the nation for its physician-to-resident ratio. With only 218 doctors per 100,000 souls, one can understand why the good people of the Silver State have developed such stout constitutions and a talent for home remedies.

While physicians are known to come in all shapes and sizes, the ones in Nevada are particularly short—on numbers, that is—owing to the state’s designation as a healthcare shortage area from Washoe to Clark and all points in between. The Congresswoman, ever hopeful that a call to reason might penetrate even the thickest of political skulls, urged Governor Joe Lombardo to persuade his Republican colleagues to oppose proposed Medicaid cuts for fear that reducing the already meager scraps would send the state’s remaining physicians fleeing for fairer pastures.

“It’s real simple,” Lee declared, though simplicity has never been the currency of Washington, “it’s up to Republicans… Senate and the White House.”

What is up to them was left to interpretation, but one might surmise it had something to do with ensuring that the good people of Nevada are not left to extract their teeth and set their bones.

Whether this bill will succeed in luring more doctors to Nevada remains to be seen. But if history is any guide, one might wager that by the time Congress acts, the citizens of this fair state will have long since learned to practice medicine on themselves, with whiskey for anesthetic and a good horse to oversee the operation.