How does this affect doctors?
So far, we’ve established that the Affordable Care Act will require:
- Insurers to make coverage more easily available to individuals
- Most individuals to have health coverage
Who’s left out? That’s right—doctors. The same doctors many of whom are at odds with the insurers.
Make no mistake. Having health insurance will not be a guarantee that newly insured Americans will get all of the medical attention they need. In some cases, individuals may have a difficult time just finding a doctor.
Many currently-insured Americans are already having difficulty finding a doctor. As The New York Times reports, “Efforts by insurers to rein in health care costs by holding down physician fees — especially for primary care doctors, who play a critical role in health care though they are among the lowest paid doctors — appear to be accelerating the trend, and some patients say it’s getting harder to find an in-network physician.”
The Times goes on to report that a survey of over 13,000 doctors across the country found over half plan to take steps reducing patient access to their services over the next few years. Nearly seven percent, meanwhile, plan to switch to practices requiring patients to pay an annual fee or retainer along with other fees.
As the Times summarizes the situation: “Private health insurance used to be the ticket to a doctor’s appointment. But that’s no longer the case in some affluent metropolitan enclaves, where many physicians no longer accept insurance and require upfront payment from patients — cash, checks and credit cards accepted.”
If the situation regarding private insurance and doctors warrants concern, by most accounts people on Medicare have even more to be concerned about.