Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - March 2017

Whether ACA is Repealed or Reformed, America Must Achieve Health Care Coverage, Access for All
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
PRAYUS TAILOR, MD
MSD President Prayus Tailor, MD is a Nephrologist who practices with Nephrology Associates in Newark and Wilmington.
Iwas asked to participate on a panel discussion organized by Senator Chris Coons regarding the repeal of
the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The panel consisted of representatives from Delaware hospitals, community health centers, the Department of Health and Social Services and most importantly, patients. The impact of an ACA repeal for these stakeholders was felt to be uniformly negative in the absence of an appropriate replacement plan. However, this uniformly negative impression
of a repeal is not shared by all of the physicians who completed a Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) survey regarding this very issue.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was met with great skepticism when initially introduced to physicians. However, the American Medical Association (AMA) supported the passage of this act as the status quo at that time.” The law was designed to make “high quality, affordable health coverage accessible
to all Americans.” This is a goal that physicians wholeheartedly embrace. However, we also realize that the ACA
is not perfect and several issues need to be addressed.
Even today, doctors are split over whether a repeal of the ACA will positively or negatively affect their practice. The survey of MSD members revealed that only 20 percent of physicians feel that repealing the ACA would have a positive impact on their practice. Reasons cited for the positive impact is an anticipated decrease in the regulatory burden created by the ACA and perhaps making the environment friendlier to private practice. We know the requirements for reimbursement
as well as the need to work with dysfunctional electronic health records have become quite onerous to many physicians. Consequently, some have chosen to retire early. Some are leaving their solo or small group practices to join larger groups or institutions so that the administrative burden is reduced. Some are deciding to drop insurance computer information technology hassles associated with meeting governmental requirements to avoid penalties. Other reasons cited are that
Del Med J | March 2017 | Vol. 89 | No. 3
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