For example, the health law is responsible for some 20 million Americans gaining health insurance. Yet in , when the uninsured rate hit an all-time low, only one-quarter of respondents to the Kaiser tracking poll knew that.
A little under half thought the rate had remained unchanged, and 21 percent thought the rate had risen to an all-time high. In a now-famous skit by comedian Jimmy Kimmel, people on the street expressed a strong preference for the Affordable Care Act over Obamacare — unaware that they were the same thing.
Once the ACA became law, basically everything bad that happened in health care was attributed to it. For example, rising prices for prescription drugs has been a problem for years. But the ACA did not seek to address that, except for one provision that sought to facilitate generic copies of some of the most expensive biologic medications. Also, before the ACA, some insurers stopped offering plans in the individual market, while others raised premiums dramatically and often would not cover care at high-cost providers like teaching hospitals.
The ACA did create some losers. Among those hardest hit are people who earn just slightly too much to qualify for federal premium subsidies, particularly early retirees and people in their 50s and early 60s who are self-employed.
Of the respondents, 46 percent gave Obamacare a D or F grade, while 25 percent gave it an A or B grade. Those who support the law are quick to point out the survey was not a scientific poll. They say people who respond to email queries tend to be more critical than the general population. The law has received the backing of a number of medical associations, though some support has been lukewarm. The group said it supported the mandate for insurance coverage as well as the ability to provide greater access to healthcare.
The qualified endorsement set off a backlash in the medical community. Since then, the AMA has been careful to state its overall support for the law but also list their concerns and desire for improvements. Jeremy Lazarus wrote:. We are pleased the law expands coverage to millions of uninsured who live sicker and die younger than those with insurance. Lawmakers also must address two problems that predate the law, the broken Medicare physician payment formula and the flawed medical liability system.
For starters, critics say the law has exacerbated the continuing problem of payments to physicians. Joseph Valenti, a board member of The Physicians Foundation, points out reimbursements to hospitals have risen 35 percent the past 10 years while increasing only 3 percent for doctors.
In addition, insurance companies only reimburse doctors for visits during the first 30 days. Story highlights Political viewpoints often dictate doctors' opinions on the ACA Many physicians are worried about the impact on their patients. He spends his hour days moving quickly between the waiting room -- "Hi, I'm Brian, nice to meet you" -- the operating room -- "We all good here?
Hill," the patient says from her wheelchair as she leaves for home. The feeling is mutual. Read More. Ryan: GOP will repeal, replace Obamacare at same time.
Medicine is great," Hill says with a big smile. It's awesome. The smile disappears. And how does Hill feel the Affordable Care Act affected that bureaucracy? And I was right. Doctors and Obamacare. Doctors have long complained about any rules and regulations that take them away from providing care for their patients.
But for Hill, the Affordable Care Act took things too far. You're not my customer anymore. Now, I've got to respond to the federal bureaucracy, not you. Jamie Thomas hears a similar refrain from doctors every day. He's the vice president of recruiting for the Atlanta office of the Medicus Firm, which places physicians in new jobs.
And it kind of drives their practice away from how they've created it, which was spending time with patients. More women got mammograms when Obamacare paid for them. Public, this survey demonstrates that it could be difficult to find high-quality medical care in the not-so-distant future, especially if doctors are shy about taking on new clients. Realistically, it's not as if we're going to see our medical graduate rate shoot exponentially higher any time soon, so this is a reality many consumers may be forced to deal with.
Source: Flickr user Taber Andrew Bain. What might actually happen is this clinical overflow could work its way into hospital emergency rooms. Hospitals especially are counting on the ACA to help them collect more of their billed revenue since there will be fewer uninsured people left in the country. But, even to this end, I worry hospital ERs may not be able to keep up with the increase in medical demand created by the overhaul of our healthcare system right as boomers begin to retire. Unfortunately, it's still too early to tell just how often last year's group of ACA enrollees will go to the doctor, and we likely won't have that answer for another year or two.
For consumers and the healthcare investor, it means a lot of uncertainty is still yet to play out. Discounted offers are only available to new members. Stock Advisor will renew at the then current list price. Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
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