USA TODAY: redictions that doctors would be overwhelmed by new patients as a result of the Affordable Care Act have not come true a year after the law’s coverage expansions took effect.
That’s according to a study to be released Wednesday from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and health care technology company Athenahealth. By gathering data from 15,700 of Athenahealth’s clients, mainly physicians, the study measured how the Affordable Care Act has affected doctors…
New-patient visits to primary care providers increased very slightly during 2014, from 22.6% of total patient visits to 22.9%. These new patients were not sicker than patients who were insured before the Affordable Care Act took effect, as some commentators had also worried. Percentages of patients diagnosed with chronic conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol remained comparable with past years… (more)
