The first in a series of reports on a comprehensive new survey finds most primary care doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants report an increase in Medicaid or newly insured patients since the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) major coverage provisions took effect, yet little change in their ability to provide high-quality care.
Overall, 59 percent of physicians and 64 percent of nurse practitioners and physician assistants say that since January 2014, they have seen a higher number of patients who were previously uninsured and now have coverage or are currently covered by Medicaid. Providers working in community clinics and those in states that expanded their Medicaid programs are more likely to report such increases. Nearly half of physicians (44%) and more than half of nurse practitioners and physician assistants (54%) report an increase in the total number of patients they see.
Designed and analyzed jointly by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund, the 2015 National Survey of Primary Care Providers provides a detailed assessment of frontline providers’ experiences with, and views of, the Affordable Care Act and other changes occurring in health care delivery and payment, as well as their perspectives on the future of primary care. This first report focuses on the ACA. Survey results dealing with primary care providers’ reactions to changes in the health system generally are still to come.