A nationwide shortage of primary care physicians is expected to become more severe as millions of additional people become insured in coming years through the national health care reform law.

Here is a look at the numbers:


The nation will need 45,000 additional primary care doctors within 7 years, including 2,000 or more in California.



Many medical students graduate with student loan debt of $150,000 to $300,000, making it harder to choose primary care over the higher pay of many specialties.

Nationwide, the average primary care doctor earned $156,000 to $165,000 in 2011, the lowest pay of all the physicians surveyed, according to a Medscape study.

Many specialists made twice as much: gastroenterologists earned $303,000, urologists and anesthesiologists $309,000, and cardiologists $314,000. Radiologists and orthopedic surgeons topped the list at $315,000.