The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could be abolished tomorrow and two-thirds of physicians would be celebrating.
That's what a survey by health care staffing firm LocumTenens.com found when it conducted an online survey of physicians to gather their opinions on health care reform.
The survey results showed a growing unrest with the law: 44 percent were opposed to it before it took effect, and now 58 percent said they were opposed to it.
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But most respondents said they weren't too worried about having to deal with the headaches it brings them, because 76 percent believes Congress will overturn PPACA. Meanwhile, 66 percent of respondents said they think the law should be repealed.
What don't they like about PPACA?
Increased patient visits, since more people now have coverage, that led to less time with each patient and more paperwork for everyone. Additionally, reimbursements dropped and exposure to patients not paying for services increased. And simply trying to master the details of service delivery, etc., outlined by the law was a pain, doctors said.
Last week, the Association of American Medical Colleges said that the nation's shortage of doctors will rise to between 46,000 and 90,000 by 2025, partly because of PPACA's implementation.
However, the survey also showed that physicians believe the effort to reform the system was a step in the right direction. Many believe health services should be available more broadly, but PPACA just didn't quite nail how to do that without negatively effecting medical practices.
"After a year in the trenches trying to help patients understand this legislation, physicians by and large feel the law hasn't done a lot to help improve health care," said R. Shane Jackson, president of LocumTenens.com and Jackson Healthcare. "Physicians feel the ACA has made serving patients and running their businesses much harder. A year after implementation, and years after the political debate started, doctors are still passionate about how this law should have been designed, and would still like to see changes made that will make it simpler for their staffs and patients to understand."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
