‘Increasing strain’: Medical groups say loss of OB-GYNs costs Idaho millions
Idaho’s strict abortion ban is costing the state’s economy over $125 million a year, local health care leaders say.
That’s because the near-total ban, which took effect in August 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned, has driven dozens of obstetricians out of state, according to a new study commissioned by the Idaho Medical Association and the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare Foundation.
“As Idaho’s population grows faster than almost anywhere in the country, the health care system is under increasing strain — and the loss of providers due to a hostile legal environment is intensifying the crisis,” the coalition said Wednesday in a news release.
The study found that each physician in Idaho contributes an average of $1.34 million a year to the economy.
That means that the 94 obstetricians that fled the state in the two and a half years since the abortion ban took effect collectively contributed more than $125 million a year to the state’s economy, and that value has since been lost, the release said. The loss comes as the state is projected to end the current fiscal year with a budget deficit of nearly $60 million, the release said.
“This new research makes it clear that Idaho‘s laws are not only impacting patient care, but also the state’s economy,” Dr. Edward McEachern, lead researcher and chief medical officer of St. Luke’s Health System, said in the release.
