# A third of US counties have no surgeon

> More than 15 million Americans live where emergency surgery is hours away, and the shortage is expected to worsen.
- Title: A third of US counties have no surgeon · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: More than 15 million Americans live where emergency surgery is hours away, and the shortage is expected to worsen. Thirty-eight percent of US counties lack…
- Keywords: rural health care, surgeon shortage, general surgery, medicaid cuts, telehealth, american college of surgeons, third, counties, surgeon, TIME
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/29/millions-of-americans-live-in-a-county-without-a-surgeon
- Author: Alana Semuels
- Published: 2026-09-29T12:00:05.422+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: rural health care, surgeon shortage, general surgery, medicaid cuts, telehealth, american college of surgeons
## Thirty-eight percent of counties have no surgeon
A new study published September twenty-eighth in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that thirty-eight percent of US counties, home to roughly fifteen million Americans, have no general surgeons.
## Surgeons are vital to rural health
Dr. Thomas Tsai, medical director for health policy research at the American College of Surgeons, says access to surgeons is the keystone for the broader rural health care ecosystem.

> access to surgeons is the keystone for the broader rural health care ecosystem
## Huge disparities across the country
Surgeon supply in some specialties was twelve times higher in some regions than others. Rochester, Minnesota, where the Mayo Clinic is located, has two hundred fifty surgeons per one hundred thousand people, while Harlingen, Texas has just twenty.
## Training cannot keep pace with demand
The American College of Surgeons projected that the US would face a shortage of nearly twenty-eight thousand surgeons by twenty thirty-eight as the country ages and needs more medical procedures.
## Medicaid cuts could make it worse
The lack of surgeons in rural areas could worsen as H R one, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is implemented across the country. It includes cuts to Medicaid and is projected to force many hospitals to close.
## Telehealth and training could help
Doctors in other countries experiment with robotic surgeries through telehealth, but regulatory barriers prevent this in the US. More training for surgeons in rural areas could help them create roots and stay, Tsai says.
## Key takeaway

Thirty-eight percent of US counties lack general surgeons, leaving 15 million people without access to emergency surgical care in their communities.