Widespread anecdotes and fabrications about doctors fleeing Illinois are contrary to the facts.
- Despite claims that doctors are leaving Illinois, the number of physicians licensed and engaged in “patient care” in Illinois has never declined.1
- Illinois’ number of physicians, per citizen population, has outpaced Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana over the last decade.2
- Independent surveys show that the most important deciding factors for doctors when choosing where to locate are: family location, relationships in the practice, income and work schedule. Professional liability ranks near the bottom of their concerns.3
- Illinois averages more doctors per person than two other states frequently cited by tort reformers as “model tort reform states” – California and Texas.4
- Texas, which enacted tort reform laws to attract doctors to their state, is facing a massive doctor shortage. This further proves that laws restricting a patient’s rights to hold negligent doctors accountable do not entice doctors to locate there.5
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1 State Physician Workforce Data Book, Association of American Medical Colleges, Various Editions
2 Ibid.
3 Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, December 1, 2010.
4 State Physician Workforce Data Book, Association of American Medical Colleges, Various Editions
5 Driving my life away, The Texas Observer, November 18, 2019. https://www.texasobserver.org/driving-my-life-away/
PDF Fact Sheet: Doctors Are Not leaving Illinois
