Obamacare through the Eyes of a Physician.
Physicians and doctors form the core audience affected by the implementation of the act. Since administration and delivery of the care is the direct responsibility of this particular audience of America, it is imperative that their views are inculcated in the whole process.
Much has been discussed about Obamacare and its impact on the Average American. Analysis,
discussions and conferences have determined the pros and cons of the implementation of the law. While deep level scrutiny has been carried out on its different aspects, not much has been talked about physicians and doctors and the impact of adoption of the act on them.
Unfortunately, this particular audience is not wholly comfortable with the implementation of the act due to some loopholes that might shift some patient care costs directly onto them.
Some doctors have pointed out that Obamacare allows patient care without coverage. Let’s suppose a person fails to pay his insurance premium and is in the three month grace period before his policy lapses. The insurance is valid only for the first month of the grace period, following which there is no cover extended to the defaulter. In this case, if a patient undergoes treatment in the second or third month, he would be required to pay the bill or the insurance premium. However, if they do not make either of the payments, the cost of the treatment would fall on the caregiver while the patient would only incur a tax penalty but no fine or payment rate increase. They would even be eligible for purchasing another plan. In such a case, the caregiver would be at a financial disadvantage.
It is worth noting that the above clause of three month grace was established to assist lower income groups who might be facing temporary troubles due to any reason. However, it is entirely possible that some people might think of abusing this loophole to their advantage. In such cases, the onus of the care would affect the doctors drastically.
The only two viable options at the moment comprise action and assessment. While some kind of action is the need of the hour, it is through the assessment of the law that a permanent solution can be established. Since not many doctors know about this glaring loophole, spreading the word should be the first priority. With a substantial chunk of doctors knowing about this loophole, a coordinated push can be made for the assessment and amendment of the law.
