In a survey of 728 medical practices, including more than 40,000 physicians, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) sought opinions on treating new Obamacare exchange patients in the first 120 days since medical coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) launched on January 1, Forbes reports.
Three key variables—eligibility, cost sharing, and network coverage—were studied in the hopes this early snapshot would provide a clear indication of successes and challenges in the course of treating newly insured patients under Obamacare. The 14-question study included 42 different specialties from all states except North Dakota, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Hawaii.
According to MGMA’s ACA Exchange Implementation Survey Report overview, almost 80 percent of survey respondents reported their practices are participating with new health insurance products sold on the ACA exchanges. Of practices participating with ACA exchange products, 85 percent are contracting with one to five products, and almost 60 percent reported they are participating in order to remain competitive in their local markets.
More than 8 million people have registered for ACA coverage, and Forbes shared the report’s key findings with regard to patient population growth:
- 56 percent reported no change in their practices’ patient population size through April
- 24 percent reported a slight increase
- 30 percent projected no change to their practice population size by the end of 2014
- 44 percent predicted a slight increase
Additionally, 60 percent of surveyed physicians stated eligibility, cost-sharing, and network coverage were somewhat or much more difficult to determine, compared to traditional commercial coverage. And 62 percent reported moderate to extreme difficulty identifying patients with Obamacare coverage.
Slightly more than 20 percent of those surveyed do not provide covered services because they are considered out of network, or they chose not to participate in a narrow network.
- Nearly 50 percent were unable to provide covered services because they were “out of network”
- 20 percent were excluded from a narrow network that they would have liked to participate in
- 10 percent chose not to participate in a narrow network
Headquartered in Englewood, California, MGMA was founded in 1926 as an association for medical practice administrators and executives, and reports more than 33,000 members across 50 state affiliates. The organization aims to improve members’ practices through exclusive member benefits, education, resources, news, information, advocacy, and networking opportunities.
