Reviewing the Affordable Care Act and three urgent tasks for family medicine

Date: Sep-12-2013Reviewing the objectives of the Affordable Care Act and analyzing the likely outcomes in light of the imperfect hand of the U.S. health care market, J.B. Silvers, PhD, a health care economist at Case Western Reserve University, concludes it is unlikely the potential for higher value care efficiently provided in the best location at a fair competitive price will be fully realized.
He outlines several reasons for this potential shortfall, including problems with how the U.S. health system is organized and paid, the information and choices available, and the pressures and the incentives that persist.
He argues that although the ACA will make the insurance market more competitive, open and fair in access and cost, impediments in the provider and supplier sectors will restrict its impact on the structure of the system and the delivery of care. If public policy is to succeed, he asserts, it will be necessary to correct for market failure.

The Affordable Care Act: Objectives and Likely Results in an Imperfect World
http://www.annfammed.org/content/11/5/400.full

By J.B. Silvers, PhD

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Editorial: ACA Implementation and Three Urgent Tasks for Family Medicine

Drawing on his experience researching and drafting health workforce provisions that ended up in the Affordable Care Act, family physician Daniel J. Derksen, MD, highlights three urgent tasks for family physicians and public health advocates that must be accomplished for the ACA to be effective.
First, he calls for the development of new health care delivery models emphasizing integrated, community-based care, as well as the expansion of primary care training programs to ensure access as 25 million uninsured gain coverage.
Additionally, he calls for active outreach efforts to help the eligible uninsured population enroll for coverage, with particular emphasis on rural and medically underserved areas and populations.
Lastly, he calls on policymakers to ensure prevention, public health and primary care are adequately funded. He asserts that family physicians and public health advocates are uniquely positioned to play a key leadership role in addressing these challenges.

The Affordable Care Act: Unprecedented Opportunities for Family Physicians and Public Health
http://www.annfammed.org/content/11/5/400.full

By Daniel J. Derksen, MD

Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

University of Arizona, Tucson
Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.