Patients, Doctors, Insurers’ Take on Health Care

• Date: March 23, 2010
• Source: Admin

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The historic Health bill which promises reform and revamp of nation’s health care system, got accolades from consumer groups, mixed reactions from the doctors and a negative response from the insurers. 

Published in a recent article of CNNMoney (March 22, 2010), responses of all major groups of people are as follows: 

Consumer Response: Consumer advocacy groups showed their contentment with the bill. 

Ron Pollack, executive director of consumer advocacy group Families USA said that "This is an enormous achievement that will provide huge benefits to families across the country," and he mentioned that his organization has been "flooded with e-mails and phone calls about this historic victory."

The new health bill has made health care affordable and that has made sure that people do not lose their coverage if they get sick or have a pre-existing condition.

Doctors’ Reaction: Although doctors believe that the new healthcare bill is heading to the right direction, still it does not address to most of the problems of American healthcare system. 

The American Medical Association (AMA), while on one hand, appreciated the new measures to increase payments for primary care physicians caring for Medicaid patients and give bonus payments to physicians who work in underserved areas, criticized the bill for not mitigating the Medicare physician payment formula that intimidates to cut what doctors receive from the program. 

Moreover, malpractice reform, controlling costs and developing a patient outcome oriented system are some of the major issues ignored by the legislation, believed the doctors’ association.

Insurers react: America's Health Insurance Plans, the group representing nearly 1,300 member companies, criticized the legislation for its failure in addressing escalating health care costs and improving the quality of care.

Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for AHIP believes the new measures will raise costs for families and small businesses. He said "Overall, the legislation takes an important step in getting more people covered but it is off base in bringing [health care] costs under control.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/22/news/economy/health_care_reform_industry_reactions...