Jul 30
2013
Physicians Give Health Reform an “F” for Failure to Meet Objectives
DALLAS, July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The majority of physicians largely view health reform as a failure, according to a recent survey by The Medicus Firm physician recruiting firm.
When asked to grade the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” physicians gave health reform a failing grade in four out of five categories. Only seven percent of physicians surveyed gave Obamacare an “A” in any given category, on average.
Physicians indicated they feel that health reform fails to decrease health care costs, improve quality of health care, or improve efficiency of the health care system.
One objective physicians do feel health reform has accomplished is increasing access to healthcare services. Grades for that category were evenly dispersed between B and C, with F as the third highest response.
When asked to give the Affordable Care Act an “overall” or comprehensive grade, 30 percent of physicians surveyed gave it an “F,” with 20 percent grading it a “D,” and 26 percent ranking it a “C”.
“Since we initially began surveying physicians on this issue in 2009, they have expressed many concerns about the government’s answer to health reform, the PPACA. Most physicians seem to agree there is a serious need for the improvements in cost control, access, and quality of care, but the general consensus is that a large, sweeping, bureaucratic government intervention is not the way to improve the nation’s health care system,” states Jim Stone, president of The Medicus Firm.
Stone states that physicians have expressed concerns over the years about how the ACA could impact physicians’ relationships with patients, which is already at risk due to interference from insurance companies and government agencies. Stone adds, “Physicians feel that the ACA has caused them to lose what little control they had left over how healthcare is provided, and that is not in the best interest of the patient, many physicians believe.”
The health reform grades were part of The Medicus Firm’s annual Physician Practice Preference and Relocation Survey, released every summer. The 2013 survey was the firm’s tenth annual physician survey, and included responses from over 2,500 physicians nationwide in a variety of specialties and practice settings including private practice and hospital-employed.
More information about the annual physician survey is available on the company’s website, www.TheMedicusFirm.com.