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Docs Grade ACA Poorly; Better to Start Over on Health Reform
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The Supreme Court will rule on the Affordable Care Act this month, but physicians grade the law so poorly, they think it should be scrapped and that Congress should start over.
The nation should know this month what the Supreme Court’s decision is on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but considering the low opinion health providers have, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing if it was overturned. Physicians, especially those most knowledgeable, give the health care law a “D,” according to a new survey.
Although the primary intention of ACA is to reduce the cost of health care, a majority of physicians don’t believe the law will do that, according to a survey by Jackson Healthcare. Of respondents, 70% said ACA would not stem rising health care costs. Furthermore, 61% physicians don’t even believe that the law will improve the quality of health care.
About half of physicians (49%) said that the new law would give patients less control over their own care, and while 66% said that ACA would give physicians less control over their own practice decisions. Plus, 68% said it would not have a positive impact on the physician/patient relationship.
Only 12% of respondents said that ACA would provide needed health care reform. The only positive rating physicians gave the law was related to access. More than half (54%) said ACA increases patients’ access to care, which was one of the main purposes of the law.
Physicians are so pessimistic that 55% say Congress should scrap ACA and start over, with 39% saying that the law does nothing to reform health care.
Of course, there are conflicting opinions about why it is that ACA doesn’t work. According to the survey, 31% say ACA doesn’t go far enough, and that a single-payer system is needed; however, 22% say ACA goes too far and impedes a physician’s ability to practice medicine.
“Physician opinions are important since they are a primary driver of healthcare decisions and costs,” said Richard L. Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, a national healthcare staffing company. “Overall, they believe the law does not meet its intended objectives, negatively impacts the patient-physician relationship and hinders their ability to control the treatment of their patients.”
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