2012 Year in Review (Part 1 of 4)

Posted onAuthorNii Darko, DO, MBA

via University of Michigan MSIS on Flickr (Creative Commons License)

Access to Care

 

  • Although the Affordable Care Act will grant Medicaid to nearly 17 million new enrollees, new research suggests that  for both public and private paying patients. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was used as a model to analyze the impact of the ACA on expanding public coverage and increasing physician reimbursement.
  • Increasing the public’s access to care is only the tip of the iceberg. There are non-financial barriers (e.g. availability and affordability) that have been proven to be or delayed care.
  • What’s access without availability? 32 million Americans stand to gain access to health coverage, but without an appreciable increase in health care providers   in our system?
  • Except under the circumstances of emergencies with labor and delivery, undocumented immigrants in the US do not have coverage under the ACA. In Belgium, where everyone has coverage, they have been able to find .
  • whose families would otherwise be unable to afford private insurance coverage. It has been such a success, that many have used it as a model to see what adult coverage will look like when the ACA is fully unveiled in 2014.
  • Reducing the , but does not necessarily reduce emergency room visits or return to employment.
  • While some states continue to refuse the ACA’s Medicaid expansion provision, and decreases in uninsurance rates, delay of care, and mortality rates among low-income adults.
  • Some subspecialty physicians can make up to. As this difference in income is no competition with primary care loan forgiveness programs and Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements, more physicians are choosing subspecialties over primary care.
  • Often lost in the debate of the uninsured, those who are from improved access to care.
  • With the increasing population of those 60 years and older as well as increases in prevalence of cardiovascular disease and obesity; more than ever.
  • If Massachusetts is the harbinger, then the ACA is off to a good start. Save for cost control, of its residents.
  • Gym membership may not only be great for your overall health, it may also . When the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented by 2014, the process of insurers “cherry-picking” healthier customers will be outlawed. However, insurers still have tricks up their sleeves to attract healthier individuals to their Medicare Advantage programs.

by

Nii Darko, DO, MBA and Renée Volny, DO, MBA