The U.S. could face a shortage of 90,000 doctors by 2025 as it struggles to cope with an older , sicker population and increased demand from Obamacare , a new report has warned . The dire need for doctors , particularly surgeons treating diseases common among elderly people , such as cancer , was revealed by the Association of American Medical Colleges on Tuesday . 'The doctor shortage is real – it 's significant – and it 's particularly serious for the kind of medical care that our aging population is going to need , ' said Darrell G. Kirch , CEO and president of AAMC , which represents medical schools and teaching hospitals across the country . In its 2015 report , the association found that even though the supply of doctors will increase between now and 2015 , the demand for physician services will fast out-grow this supply . Struggle : A graph shows the predicted demand for doctors compared to the predicted supply between 2013 and 2015 . The demand is thanks to the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) and retail clinics , among other factors . Problem : The greatest shortage will be for surgeons , particularly those treating diseases among the elderly . The number of physicians is expected to grow by nine per cent over the next ten years , but the demand for healthcare services could grown by up to 17 percent . It predicted there could be a shortfall of between 46,100 and 90,400 doctors in 10 years ' time and , of these , there could be a shortage of as many as 63,700 non-primary care physicians . This is also considering how retail clinics and outpatient centers are turning more to nurse practitioners , physician assistants and other professionals instead of physicians , the report noted . When looking at the cause behind the increased demand , the association pointed to increased life expectancy . 'An increasingly older , sicker population , as well as people living longer with chronic diseases , such as cancer , is the reason for the increased demand , ' Kirch told the Washington Post . The number of people over the age of 65 will soar by 40 percent by 2025 , he said . The association also noted that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act will likely increase demand . But it will do so only minimally - increasing the need for doctors by two per cent . 'The trends from these data are clear , ' Kirch said in a statement . 'The physician shortage will grow over the next 10 years under every likely scenario . Demands : The Association of American Medical Colleges , which compiled the report , has called upon the government to pay to train 3,000 more physicians a year in a bid to meet the growing demand . 'Because training a doctor takes between five and 10 years , we must act now , in 2015 , if we are going to avoid serious physician shortages in 2025 . ' He called for more efficient care and more federal support to train at least 3,000 more students a year - at an estimated cost of $ 1 billion a year . The association did note that the shortfalls are n't as bad as predictions in the past ; in a 2010 study , they said there would be a shortage of 130,600 physicians . The difference in predictions is thanks to revised population numbers and the slight rise in doctors completing medical school . The AAMC , which is based in Washington , D.C. , represents all 141 U.S. medical schools and 17 in Canada , and 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems .
The Association of American Medical Colleges has warned that there could be a shortfall of between 46,100 and 90,400 doctors by the age of 65 . In particular , there will be a need for surgeons treating diseases common among elderly people , such as cancer . The increased demand is due to factors including an older , sicker population and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act . The AAMC called upon the government to invest $ 1 billion a year to train 3,000 students at medical schools .