(HealthDay News) — A majority of primary care doctors oppose full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, according to a perspective piece published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers polled 426 internal medicine physicians, pediatricians, geriatricians, and family doctors and found that only 15% agree with a complete dismantling of the health reform law.
About three-quarters of the doctors support changes to the law. Those changes include creating a public option like Medicare to compete with private plans, paying doctors for value rather than volume, and increasing the use of health savings accounts. Only 29% of the doctors support increased use of high-deductible health plans.
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The survey found strong support for parts of the Affordable Care Act: 95% of the doctors support rules prohibiting insurers from denying coverage or charging higher prices to people with pre-existing conditions; 88% support allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plan until age 26; 91% support tax credits to small businesses that offer health insurance to employees; 75% support tax subsidies to individuals to buy insurance; 72% support Medicaid expansion; and 50% support tax penalties for people who don’t buy health insurance. Among the doctors, no Democrats want complete repeal, compared with 32% of Republicans and nearly 38% of those who voted for President Donald Trump.
Reference
- Pollack CE, Armstrong K, Grande D. A View from the Front Line – Physicians’ Perspectives on ACA Repeal. N Engl J Med. 25 January 2017. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1700144. [Epub ahead of print]
