The Affordable Care Act: Do No Harm
Authors: Susan  Dentzer
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Ideas and Opinions21 March 2017The Affordable Care Act: Do No HarmSusan DentzerSusan DentzerFrom the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M16-2935 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail If medicine's watchword is “do no harm,” physicians have many reasons to resist the plans of the incoming Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The 2010 health reform law is far from perfect, in either its structure or its execution; in a less dysfunctional political era, the flaws would have been addressed through subsequent changes. Now, amid the drive not to amend the law, but to repeal it—and absent a definitive replacement plan—physicians, as stewards of the nation's health care, should be up at arms about the potentially dangerous ...References1. Ward BW, Clarke TC, Schiller JS. Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the January–June 2016 National Health Interview Survey. Atlanta: National Center for Health Statistics; 2016. Google Scholar2. Institute of Medicine; Board on Health Care Services; Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance. Hidden Costs, Value Lost: Uninsurance in America. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2003. Google Scholar3. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Newly Enrolled Members in the Individual Health Insurance Market After Health Care Reform: The Experience from 2014 and 2015. 20 March 2016. Accessed at https://www.bcbs.com/about-us/capabilities-initiatives/health-america/health-of-america-report/newly-enrolled-members on 22 December 2016. Google Scholar4. Kaufman HW, Chen Z, Fonseca VA, McPhaul MJ. Surge in newly identified diabetes among Medicaid patients in 2014 within Medicaid expansion states under the Affordable Care Act. Diabetes Care. 2015;38:833-7. [PMID: 25802324] doi:10.2337/dc14-2334 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Varney S. Why gunshot victims have reason to like the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times. 28 November 2016. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/health/obamacare-gunshots-medicaid.html?_r=0 on 22 December 2016. Google Scholar6. Budgetary effects of H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, as passed by the Senate on December 3, 2015. Letter from Keith Hall, Director, Congressional Budget Office, to Mike Enzi, Chairman, Senate Budget Committee. 11 December 2015. Accessed at www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/costestimate/hr3762senatepassed.pdf on 22 December 2016. Google Scholar7. Dobson A, DaVanzo J, Haught R, Luu PH. Estimating the Impact of Repealing the Affordable Care Act on Hospitals: Findings, Assumptions and Methodology. (Prepared by Dobson DaVanzo & Associates and submitted to the Federation of American Hospitals and American Hospital Association.) Vienna, VA: Dobson DaVanzo & Associates; 2016. Accessed at www.aha.org/content/16/impact-repeal-aca-report.pdf on 22 December 2016. Google Scholar8. A Better Way: Our Vision for a Confident America. Health Care. 22 June 2016. Accessed at https://abetterway.speaker.gov/_assets/pdf/ABetterWay-HealthCare-PolicyPaper.pdf on 22 December 2016. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Disclaimer: Susan Dentzer is President and CEO of the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation (NEHI), Cambridge, Massachusetts. The views expressed in this article are hers and do not necessarily represent the views of NEHI or its membership.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M16-2935.Corresponding Author: Susan Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, One Broadway, 15th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142; e-mail, [email protected]net.Author Contributions: Analysis and interpretation of the data: S. Dentzer.Drafting of the article: S. Dentzer.Final approval of the article: S. Dentzer.This article was published at Annals.org on 10 January 2017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 21 March 2017Volume 166, Issue 6Page: 441-442KeywordsDisclosureHealth careHealth insurancePatient Protection and Affordable Care ActPrevention, policy, and public healthPsychiatry and mental healthStable coronary artery diseaseSurgeonsTrauma surgeryType 2 diabetes ePublished: 10 January 2017 Issue Published: 21 March 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...