A slim majority of doctors say Obamacare has had a negative impact on medical practice, including on the quality and cost of healthcare, a new report shows.
In the survey posted by
the Journal of the American Association, 52 percent of doctors say they look on Obamacare as unfavorable to the general medical situation; 48 percent say it's favorable.
"Many providers feel that the amount of time they have with each patient and the time they spend on insurance administration issues have gotten worse," the report states.
"Four of 10 physicians and more than a third of midlevel providers said the amount of time they have available to spend with each patient has gotten worse since January 2014."
In other findings from the doctors surveyed, the report finds:
- 36 percent say Obamacare had a negative impact on the medical practice overall; 23 percent said it had a positive impact and 31 percent it had no impact.
- 25 percent say Obamacare had a negative impact on the quality of patient care, 18 percent said it had a positive impact.
- 35 percent said Obamacare had a negative impact on the ability to meet patient demand; 10 percent said it had a positive impact.
- 44 percent said Obamacare had a negative impact on the cost of patient healthcare; 21 percent said it had a positive impact.
- 48 percent said they had positive feelings about Obamacare related to patients' access to health care; 24 percent reported a negative impression.
"There is frustration about higher cost to patients, out-of-pocket costs, and many high deductible plans," Dr. Wanda Filer, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, tells
the Washington Free Beacon.
"Also, it is some patients' first time having insurance and they are facing premiums and deductibles and not sure how it works and some have to educate patients."
Filer also tells the newspaper 60 percent of doctors in her organization are seeing more newly insured patients, a "positive impact on patient access" from the new healthcare law.
Yet, she adds, "there are a lot of frustrations regarding changes in private sector."
"There is a sense of frustration regarding a lot more administrative work to confirm coverage, who are they covered by, and so there are a lot more dealings with insurance," Filer tells the Free Beacon.
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