Emergency departments are bracing for lower expected payments for the delivery of heath services as a result of the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Just over half (51%) of 1,845 current ACEP members who responded to the survey predicted that payments for emergency care will be reduced as a result of the health care reform bill, 19% expected it to remain the same, 13% forecasted an increase. And 17% were unsure.
The nature of the plans for sale in the ACA’s health care marketplaces is a key factor in the expected decline of payments to hospitals. Dr. Alexander M. Rosenau, ACEP president, noted that bronze-level plans, aimed at people with lower incomes typically come with high deductibles. Those deductibles could reach as high as $6,000, which could make it "difficult for people to actually pay these bills," he said.
The specter of lower payments comes as emergency physicians expect volume to increase. According to the survey, 45% of respondents look for volume to increase either slightly, while 41% expect it to increase greatly.
The expansion of Medicaid under the ACA also could contribute to the expected decline of payments to hospitals, Dr. Rosenau said.
Lower payments to hospitals could lead to additional issues, survey respondents noted. Almost half (42%) expressed concern that their ED would become financially unsustainable if balance billing were disallowed, while 37% forecast longer wait times for patients and 30% said they expected access to care to decline.
Marketing General Inc. conducted the survey on behalf of ACEP.