Logo

Log In Sign Up |  An official publication of: American College of Emergency Physicians
Navigation
  • Home
  • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • Clinical
    • Airway Managment
    • Case Reports
    • Critical Care
    • Guidelines
    • Imaging & Ultrasound
    • Pain & Palliative Care
    • Pediatrics
    • Resuscitation
    • Trauma & Injury
  • Resource Centers
    • mTBI Resource Center
  • Career
    • Practice Management
      • Benchmarking
      • Reimbursement & Coding
      • Care Team
      • Legal
      • Operations
      • Quality & Safety
    • Awards
    • Certification
    • Compensation
    • Early Career
    • Education
    • Leadership
    • Profiles
    • Retirement
    • Work-Life Balance
  • Columns
    • ACEP4U
    • Airway
    • Benchmarking
    • Brief19
    • By the Numbers
    • Coding Wizard
    • EM Cases
    • End of the Rainbow
    • Equity Equation
    • FACEPs in the Crowd
    • Forensic Facts
    • From the College
    • Images in EM
    • Kids Korner
    • Medicolegal Mind
    • Opinion
      • Break Room
      • New Spin
      • Pro-Con
    • Pearls From EM Literature
    • Policy Rx
    • Practice Changers
    • Problem Solvers
    • Residency Spotlight
    • Resident Voice
    • Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine
    • Sound Advice
    • Special OPs
    • Toxicology Q&A
    • WorldTravelERs
  • Resources
    • ACEP.org
    • ACEP Knowledge Quiz
    • Issue Archives
    • CME Now
    • Annual Scientific Assembly
      • ACEP14
      • ACEP15
      • ACEP16
      • ACEP17
      • ACEP18
      • ACEP19
    • Annals of Emergency Medicine
    • JACEP Open
    • Emergency Medicine Foundation
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Medical Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Awards
    • Authors
    • Article Submission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Information

Ten Ways Obamacare Could Impact Patients, Emergency Departments, and the Physician Workforce

By Todd Taylor, MD, FACEP, and Kevin Klauer, DO, EJD, FACEP | on March 6, 2014 | 0 Comment
Features
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Print-Friendly Version
  1. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 2.5 million people will leave the workforce over the next 10 years due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They will reduce their work hours or quit altogether.
  2. Insurers have been advised that they do not need to cancel policies in 2014.
  3. As of Dec. 28, 2013, just 11 percent of people signing up didn’t have insurance previously.
  4. ACA now requires more comprehensive coverage whether people need it or not (eg, a 60 year old now must carry maternity and pediatric coverage). Fortunately, it also covers mental health, which people may need when they see their new premiums.
  5. Most of the low-deductible plans (especially in the silver variety) have sizable co-pays, coinsurance, special fees, and the maximum allowable out-of-pocket costs ($6,350 for an individual).
  6. EDs (and most other providers) will find they now must get the majority of their payment directly from patients. So, even though patients are insured, EDs still have to track down payment from individuals—particularly before they’ve met their deductibles.
  7. Most people who do not qualify for a government subsidy will now pay more for health insurance on average.
  8. ACA makes health insurance available to everyone with taxpayer-funded subsidies, but due to high first-dollar coverage, the vulnerable group remains functionally uninsured.
  9. Patients who cannot find in-network care due to a lack of availability will likely come to the ED.
  10. On-call physicians will likely send patients back to the ED when they show up for follow-up and are not in-network or cannot pay their deductible.

You Might Also Like
  • Solutions Needed to Reduce Boarding of Mental Health Patients in Emergency Departments
  • How Will the 115th Congress Impact Emergency Medicine?
  • What Will Obamacare Mean for Emergency Physicians?
Explore This Issue
ACEP Now: Vol 33 – No 03 – March 2014

Topics: Affordable Care ActCongressCost of Health CareEmergency DepartmentEmergency MedicineEmergency PhysicianHealth InsuranceMedicaidMedicarePatient CareWorkforce

Related

  • Pros and Cons: A Mandated Four-Year Residency

    June 11, 2025 - 0 Comment
  • ACEP 2025 Leadership & Advocacy Conference—Showing Up on Behalf of EM!

    June 5, 2025 - 0 Comment
  • EM Runs in the Family

    February 26, 2025 - 0 Comment

Current Issue

ACEP Now May 03

Download PDF

Read More

No Responses to “Ten Ways Obamacare Could Impact Patients, Emergency Departments, and the Physician Workforce”

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


*
*

Wiley
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertise
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2025 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved, including rights for text and data mining and training of artificial technologies or similar technologies. ISSN 2333-2603