Physician Pathways under Policy Shift: Capital, Care, and Career Moves

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Physician decision‑making critically shapes healthcare delivery, investment, and workforce distribution in response to evolving policy landscapes. Drawing on data from ASC ownership registries, state paid family leave implementations, and monthly physician relocations post‑Dobbs, this panel examines (1) how regulatory changes have spurred physicians’ financial investments in ambulatory surgery centers, revealing gender and specialty differences in ownership trends; (2) how the absence or presence of paid family leave influences parents’ ability to secure timely infant care, demonstrating substantial reductions in preventable hospitalizations and costs, especially for low‑income families; (3) how expanded abortion restrictions affect physicians’ geographic mobility, highlighting increased out‑migration among obstetrician‑gynecologists and female physicians; and (4) how gender mix shapes team performance in Obstretic settings.  Together, these studies illuminate the multifaceted ways in which federal and state policies guide physicians’ resource allocations, practice patterns, and career choices, with profound implications for patient access, equity, and the future healthcare workforce.

Policy Area

• Health Policy

Chair

• Naomi Bethlehem Zewde, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussants

• Tony LoSasso, DePaul University

• Lilly Springer, University of Kansas

Individual Presentations

• Physician Labor Mobility post Dobbs - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Seth Freedman, Indiana University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Kosali Simon, Indiana University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Nicole Y Siegal, Indiana University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Coady Wing, Indiana University; Presenting Author: Jiaen Wu, Indiana University

• State paid family leave and healthcare utilization for infants - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Raka Datta, Georgia State University; Presenting Author: GODWIN AIPOH, Georgia State University

• Slicing the Ownership Pie: Physician Specialty and Ambulatory Surgery Center Ownership Over Time - Non-Presenting Co-Author: Yaa Akosa Antwi; Presenting Author: Beth L Munnich, University of Louisville; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Ellerie Weber, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

• From Access to Wellness: Early Life Exposure to Abortion Legalization and the Next Generation’s Health - Non-Presenting Co-Author: David Slusky, University of Kansas; Presenting Author: Hamid Noghanibehambari, Austin Peay State University

Organizer

• Jiaen Wu, Indiana University