To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (793386 ) 7/3/2014 2:58:35 PM From: tejek Read Replies (2) | Respond to Seriously, I have never come across a doctor who actually liked ObamaCare. And this includes those who still believe in the promised land of universal health care. In the nearly two years since the Act was passed, we have heard many stories from colleagues around the country who belong to Doctors for America , an independent organization with which we are both affiliated. These physician are in private practice and academia, primary care and specialties, and in rural and urban areas. They are all seeing the impact of health care reform. Heidi Sinclair, an internal medicine hospital specialist in Louisiana, noted that her hospital set up a discharge clinic to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions in anticipation of the law's delivery system reform pilots. Maggie Kozel, a pediatrician and teacher in Rhode Island, has seen more young adults - including her own children - who have now been able to get health insurance through their parent's insurance plans. Chris Lillis, an internal medicine physician in Virginia reported that his practice has received an increase in reimbursement thanks to the law’s primary care support provisions. Particularly touching was a message we received from Ann Drum, a physician in Alabama, who has devoted her career to caring for the underserved. Dr. Drum suffers from a chronic illness herself, and, because of the regular and expensive intravenous therapy required for her disease, she was in danger of losing her health insurance as she approached her lifetime cap on coverage. The Affordable Care Act's provisions which ban lifetime caps mean that she and her patients need no longer live in fear of losing their health insurance because they are too sick. There are many other stories too: A Tennessee specialist noted that his hospital has embarked on a major reorganization to focus on maximizing quality of care and reducing costs – all in anticipation of the law’s accountable care organization pilot programs. A Florida physician who owns a small private practice expressed relief that their state is finally getting grant support through the new public health prevention fund, to improve the screening and treatment of conditions such as hypertension. A North Carolina intensive care unit physician, who has seen heartbreaking cases of his patients denied care by insurers, told us of his sense of victory when he discovered the law provided his patients much needed protection. newrepublic.com
