Author Topic: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?  (Read 3275 times)

Ango_mark03

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What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« on: November 07, 2013, 06:25:25 AM »
Recently we all have heard about the Affordable Care Act or the so called Obamacare act.Is it a boon for medical practitioners?

DMK

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Re: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2013, 01:34:07 PM »
No, no, no, no and no.  Doctors are leaving private practice in droves.  Aside from the troubles that patient's are having, there have been so many mandates forced on the doctors and clinics that it's going to collapse under it's own weight.

PMRNC

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Re: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2013, 07:56:17 PM »
I might agree with private physicians dropping to ACO's or simply closing, retiring, etc.. however. Right now we have NO means of knowing if reimbursement will dip.. WE KNOW that patient out of pocket is going to climb but if a provider has a good sound financial policy in his office this won't really affect them IN THE LONG RUN. Physicians will need to just be MORE vigilant with benefit verifications, collecting out of pocket on the front end and watching effective dates of policies.
Linda Walker
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DMK

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Re: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2013, 01:20:47 PM »
Linda is absolutely correct as far as what practices will have to do to respond to the ACA.  My opinion was regarding the word "boon".  You would think that with more people having insurance that would mean that more people will get to go to the doctor when they need to.  But read your policies closely, it's not "free" to go to the doctor even with the new policies.  There is still deductible and co-pay to pay, and offices are going to want that payment when you go in.

I can only speak to what's happening in our area, but it's getting really difficult to even get a doctor to take someone as a patient.  They will look at your case and decide if they want to take it on.  (personally I think that's wrong, but there is professional liability involved in every case they take on and ultimately it's the doctor's butt on the line)  Many of our Medicare primary doctors have gone to a clinic (so the patient is part of the clinic and not necessarily the doctor's patient) and it's months before you can get an appointment.  And specialties are even worse.  If you're really sick, now, today, you have to go to the ER or Urgent care.  How the government thinks that's going to make things better is beyond me.


shanbull

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Re: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2013, 08:06:19 PM »
Our scheduling for January has gone way up because many more people are eligible for coverage (either through medical assistance or because of pre-existing condition discrimination being banned). So the immediate effect is going to be quite good financially. I guess we'll see what happens after those first few months and there isn't such a backlog of people who have been waiting to go to the doctor because they couldn't afford it.

The sequester spending cuts have affected reimbursement far more than the ACA at this point.

Anyone who tells you X is or isn't going to happen because of the ACA doesn't know what they're talking about. Not even the doctors really know what to expect.

Quote
But read your policies closely, it's not "free" to go to the doctor even with the new policies.  There is still deductible and co-pay to pay, and offices are going to want that payment when you go in.

This is not true, actually. Preventive care visits are not subject to either deductible or copay :
https://www.healthcare.gov/what-are-my-preventive-care-benefits/

All women and children will get that first checkup completely free of charge as an annual wellness visit as long as they don't have a grandfathered plan. Men also get quite a few free services.
« Last Edit: November 19, 2013, 08:10:55 PM by shanbull »

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Re: What you think about the recent Obamacare act?
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2013, 08:06:19 PM »