Let's just file this one under, "Things that would've been nice to know before the bill was passed":
Emergency rooms, the only choice for patients who can't find care elsewhere, may grow even more crowded with longer wait times under the nation's new health law.
That might come as a surprise to those who thought getting 32 million more people covered by health insurance would ease ER crowding. It would seem these patients would be able to get routine health care by visiting a doctor's office, as most of the insured do.
But it's not that simple. Consider:
_There's already a shortage of front-line family physicians in some places and experts think that will get worse.
_People without insurance aren't the ones filling up the nation's emergency rooms. Far from it. The uninsured are no more likely to use ERs than people with private insurance, perhaps because they're wary of huge bills.
_The biggest users of emergency rooms by far are Medicaid recipients. And the new health insurance law will increase their ranks by about 16 million. Medicaid is the state and federal program for low-income families and the disabled. And many family doctors limit the number of Medicaid patients they take because of low government reimbursements.
_ERs are already crowded and hospitals are just now finding solutions.
Rand Corp. researcher Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann predicts this from the new law: "More people will have coverage and will be less afraid to go to the emergency department if they're sick or hurt and have nowhere else to go.... We just don't have other places in the system for these folks to go."
Kellermann and other experts point to Massachusetts, the model for federal health overhaul where a 2006 law requires insurance for almost everyone. Reports from the state find ER visits continuing to rise since the law passed — contrary to hopes of its backers who reasoned that expanding coverage would give many people access to doctors offices.
(italics, ours)
Feel free to substitute "cautionary tale" for "model" in this context.
Much like the Gulf oil spill, Obamacare will certainly prove to be the federal government's next slow-motion disaster.
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I recently had to get medical attention for an insect bite which was causing gross inflammation. I got a PA for my treatment and we had a nice chat. He said that due to the approaching doctor shortage (Obamacare or no Obamacare), PA’s are excepted to take over much of family practice side of medicine within a few years.
He liked my idea of giving out lots of ROTC scholarships for PA’s. Their payback would be 5 years serving in clinics which give the Medicaid folks a place to go rather than waiting until evening and going to ER. It would similar to Dean having to work in ship building for his payback. Also you would have a large cadre of medical reservists for emergency service. Dad
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