See
full article for list of panel members and
myths
Myth no. 8.
The government through the health
law
will control the doctors I see, and medications and services I buy.
Haubrock:
FALSE.
The control will still lie with the insurance carrier, or the
exchange, and is based on the level of coverage you elect to buy.
Sweeney:
FALSE.
The plan you choose coverage through will have networks of
doctors/hospitals/other providers, as well as prescription programs,
just like you have a choice of plans now. Some will be more
restrictive than others to keep the price down. All must cover the
“essential benefits,” which most plans already cover. Be prepared
to take more responsibility for taking care of yourself, by the
choices you make in smoking or not, eating and drinking in
moderation, keeping physically fit.
Myth 9.
The law establishes government “death panels” that encourage the
elderly to opt-out of life extending treatment as a way to reduce
Medicare expenses.
Hoeflinger:
FALSE.
Plans are not incented to withhold care under ACA. In fact, they are
encouraged to reduce spending by coordinating care to prevent
avoidable hospitalizations.
Streator:
FALSE.
The Independent Payment Advisory Board or the “death panel” is
tasked with reducing growth rate (not spending) by improving quality.
The Patient Outcome Research Institute, which is an independent
nonprofit, non-government entity whose purpose is to advance the
quality and relevance of medical evidence for informed decisions,
states that this board is tasked with making recommendations around
slowing net growth in Medicare spending. It can’t
ration health care,
raise premiums or revenues.
Any
proposal to reduce expenses must contain key considerations around
improving healthoutcomes,
protect access and beneficiaries, and consider effects and needs of
consumers.
10.
Appointments and wait times will be longer to see a doctor in the
future due to healt
reform.
LeRoy
FALSE.
There is currently a shortage of primary care physicians. There are
provisions in the ACA to encourage more medical students to go into
primary care specialties (family medicine, primary care internal
medicine and pediatrics). There is also a modest financial
reimbursement (a 10 percent fee increase for preventative primary
care services through 2014) for primary care services under the ACA.
If
your doctor’s daily schedule is already full the ACA cannot mandate
that he/she see more patients. True, there will be many more people
seeking primary care services, and the pipeline of primary care
professionals has not been filled enough to accommodate the
anticipated national need. This will certainly be a challenge for the
system for the next several years. We will need to become more aware
of these system limits, more efficient in providing service, and
utilize more of the talents of physician extenders, such as physician
assistants and advance practice nurses.
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