Coverage expansions resulting from the Affordable Care Act have not had a negative financial effect on medical practices. Instead, primary care physicians reported increased collections and decreased visit volume, according to athenahealth
Higher reimbursement rates as a result of the Affordable Care Act have led to increased collections for primary care physicians (PCPs) in both Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states in 2014, according to a report from athenahealth and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
For PCPs in non-expansion states, collections increased 3.3% and in expansion states collections increased 3%. However, both groups saw a decrease in visit volume, although it was to a smaller degree in expansion states (0.3%) compared to non-expansion states (1.3%).
The insurance segments that drove collection increases differed in expansion and non-expansion states. In states that haven't expanded Medicaid, more than half (57%) of the increase in collections was attributed to commercially insured patients between the ages of 41 and 64 years. In both sets of states, Medicare was a primary driver of increased collections: the program accounted for 41.4% of the increase in non-expansion states and 39.4% in expansion states.
"Overall, our data suggests that the coverage expansion provisions of the ACA have not had a negative financial effect on medical practices," the authors of the report concluded.
Accountable Care Organizations and HPV Vaccine Uptake: A Multilevel Analysis
October 24th 2024The authors evaluated whether adolescents receiving care at accountable care organizations (ACOs) vs non-ACOs were more likely to initiate and complete the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination series.
Read More
Sustaining Compassionate Trauma Care Across Communities
September 30th 2024September is National Recovery Month, and we are bringing you another limited-edition month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In our final episode, we speak with Lyndra Bills, MD, and Shari Hutchison, MS.
Listen
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Community Wellness Centers
September 27th 2024Delia Orosco, MS, director of Community Wellness Centers at Inland Empire Health Plan, shares insight into innovative initiatives provided by the wellness centers and their new mobile mammogram clinics.
Listen
Rozanolixizumab Effective in Patients with MuSK MG, Analysis Shows
October 23rd 2024A new subgroup analysis of patients with muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) autoantibody-positive (Ab+) myasthenia gravis (MG) shows rozanolixizumab (Rystiggo) contributes to meaningful symptom improvement.
Read More