Emergency Departments Face Shortage of Specialty Care : Obstetricians are among the specialists who don't want to take call because of the liability risks that are involved.

And money diverted to pay for physician stipends often means that less money is available to cover emergency department costs, he said. This worsens the burden on emergency medical groups, Dr. Fields said.

Paying stipends to physicians to take emergency department call is taking away from other services and the funding for uncompensated care, said Jeff Micklos, general counsel for the Federation of American Hospitals.

The federation is concerned that more hospitals will need to offer stipends to doctors for taking call, Mr. Micklos added. Otherwise, they will be creating an incentive for physicians to begin to invest in local specialty hospitals.