| The financial impact of Health Reform on medical | | | | decrease costs in the long run, they will still provide |
| professionals across the country is difficult to predict. | | | | work and income for physicians and nurse practitioner |
| Physicians derive their income in different ways with | | | | as people receive medical care for the conditions that |
| many being independent practitioners and others | | | | are diagnosed. There will also be an influx of patients |
| working as employees of large physician groups and | | | | with diabetes and heart disease, who were getting |
| hospital systems. Since current Health Reform | | | | only minimal care under public assistance programs or |
| legislation is aimed primarily at covering more people, | | | | who also had very high deductible insurance from "high |
| physicians, hospitals, and outpatient centers will likely | | | | risk pools." |
| have more business following the passage of this | | | | If the business aspects of Health Reform, such as |
| reform. In a modified fee for service system like the | | | | electronic medical record keeping takes hold, this will |
| one under which most people are covered, this would | | | | begin to lower the costs of record keeping along with |
| mean more income as more services are provided. | | | | coding, billing and collecting costs, increasing profits for |
| This fact makes it difficult to understand how covering | | | | medical professionals who are paid in a fee for |
| more individuals will decrease health care cost. | | | | service manner. Electronic medical records will also |
| One of the ways Health Reform will decrease costs is | | | | reduce cost by eliminating duplication of testing. For |
| to eliminate the expense of the uninsured or under | | | | physicians such as pathologist and radiologist, who |
| insured patients. Currently many services granted to | | | | interpret these tests, it may seem that this will reduce |
| the uninsured are funded by increased cost to those | | | | the volume of work. Since more individuals will be |
| who have insurance through higher charges by both | | | | covered, this will add volume to their business, evening |
| physicians and hospitals. Physicians who have seen | | | | out the losses. |
| health care coverage deductibles rise in recent years | | | | Finally, health reform has specific goals to decrease |
| and patients delay or go without basic care, will | | | | conditions such as obesity, which increases the risk of |
| hopefully see a return of these patients, along with | | | | heart disease and diabetes. With this type of mandate |
| increased revenue from the services they render. | | | | to improve patient health, primary care physicians and |
| Another focus of the Health Reform legislation, | | | | nurse practitioners will have an influx of patients as |
| removing the exclusion on pre-existing conditions | | | | people are incentivized to live healthier lives, reducing |
| should open up more affordable private insurance to | | | | both their own out of pocket costs long with the long |
| patients who have such conditions, again resulting in an | | | | term cost to the health care system. Over all medical |
| increase in patient visits to those physicians in private | | | | professionals should maintain their income, though |
| practice and also increasing many preventive visits and | | | | some restructuring and initial cost maybe required at |
| procedures such as Pap smears, mammograms, and | | | | the outset of Health Reform. |
| cholesterol screening. While these kinds of tests will | | | | |