With #Obamacare... the unexpected keeps cropping up. So much so that last week the CBO stated that the metrics are so out of control and unpredictable that it can no longer score the long financial effects of the ACA. Heres another one, ER visits are on a significant rise. Wasnt minimizing these a key goal of the law? Nationally, nearly half of ER doctors responding to a recent poll by the American College of Emergency Physicians said theyve seen more visits since Jan. 1, and nearly nine in 10 expect those visits to rise in the next three years. Mike Rust, president of the Kentucky Hospital Association, said members statewide describe the same trend. Experts cite many reasons: A long-standing shortage of primary-care doctors leaves too few to handle all the newly insured patients. Some doctors wont accept Medicaid. And poor people often cant take time from work when most primary care offices are open, while ERs operate round-the-clock and by law must at least stabilize patients. Plus, some patients who have been uninsured for years dont have regular doctors and are accustomed to using ERs, even though it is much more expensive. Its a perfect storm here, said Dr. Ryan Stanton of Lexington, president of the Kentucky chapter of the ER physician group.Weve given people an ATM card in a town with no ATMs. Click through for more...unexpected revelations.
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 15:21:27 +0000
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