Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The Affordable Care Act ignores simple issues of human nature

Edwin Leap, MD
Policy
September 17, 2013
Share
Tweet
Share

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, is law.  And its implementation is moving along slowly, but steadily.

You have to give credit to the folks who believed in it, whether grass-roots supporters or highly placed politicians.  They rammed it down the American gullet like a lead ball down the muzzle of a Hawken rifle.  The problem is, once it goes off, the whole thing is going to explode.

The reasons are many, but from my perspective in emergency medicine, there are some very important issues that the crafters and supporters of the law either failed to notice or (more likely) intentionally ignored.  While I’m not a medical economist, or a politician for that matter, I am a physician. And as a physician, I pretty darn good observer of humanity.

As the cost of insurance rises, people with limited incomes are simply going to pay the fine and go without insurance.  Rather than pay $900/month for their families, they’ll pay the $695 yearly fine … unless of course the qualify for various exemptions.  For some young people, this will be fine.  But many will still be ill and will still show up in emergency rooms, as they have for decades, in the full knowledge that they’ll receive good care and simply be billed later.  But not to worry!  They can still apply for insurance as soon as they need it and not be denied.  Problem is, the concept of insurance then fails. They won’t have put any money into the system, which could have been making money for the company until they became ill or injured.

Of course, many won’t bother with the fine either.  And it’s the height of lunacy to believe that the government (which simply can’t imagine imposing voter ID) will actually track down and prosecute those who don’t pay.  If it did, they would just call a reporter and talk about how they have no money for insurance and the fine would be dropped.

I take care of a lot of folks in this demographic.  Some genuinely have financial struggles and try their best. I love them.  But a not-insignificant group of patients will continue to find ways to move from ER to ER, from narcotic prescription to narcotic prescription, state Medicaid to state Medicaid.  They will still find money for a smartphone, cigarettes and methamphetamine.  They will continue to drive large, late model trucks and fish whenever possible.  They will not give accurate addresses, either to the government or to the hospitals who treat them.  And they will not abide by the rules of the Affordable Care Act.  That is, they’ll find a way to have money. But they aren’t foolish enough to use it for insurance.

Added to the problem with the ACA is the issue of pre-existing conditions.  I’m sympathetic here. I have a son with type-I diabetes and a wife who is a cancer survivor. Insurance will be tough for them to obtain without some government mandate.  On the other hand, what about the patient who intentionally does things, or has habits, which make him or her a costly investment?  For instance, the recreational cocaine user?  The heroin addict who has no interest in rehab, only in treatment when things go wrong? The gangbanger whose hobby is shooting others and being shot? It may seem compassionate to offer them help; but it’s cruel to those who will be ultimately paying the costs for those who refuse. It’s a huge drain on a system when people do nothing to care for themselves.

Finally, what does the president intend to do about the fact that physicians are retiring early, and moving into practices that don’t take insurance?  What about the fact that there aren’t nearly enough physicians in primary care, nor will there be for at least the next 20 years or more? What about the fact that patients who are difficult are often dismissed from practices?  What do we do with the angry, the addicted, the dangerous, the non-compliant?  Even with insurance, nobody will take care of them for long.

I’ll try to be generous here. The ACA exists in part because of compassion for the sick and needy.  I’ve known patients who simply put off necessary care for lack of insurance.  But the ACA is far too large, far too expensive and ignores simple issues of human nature and behavior like those I listed above.  It also ignores other inconvenient truths; like employers changing employees to part-time because they can’t afford insurance, or the impending explosion of patients who haven’t paid into any plan, private or public, because they were illegal immigrants.

Frankly, I’m worried. When government, so far out of touch with reality, imposes its social philosophy on people who do live in reality, only tragedy can result.  What a pity that when it happens, the political class (left and right) will only wring their hands, say ‘tsk, tsk, we didn’t think that would happen,’ and slip off to their private physicians, with their Cadillac, tax-dollar insurance plans, and get more pills for anxiety.

And the masses be damned, or fined, or ignored.

Edwin Leap is an emergency physician who blogs at edwinleap.com and is the author of The Practice Test.

Prev

The Sunshine Act: A chilling effect on medical education?

September 17, 2013 Kevin 3
…
Next

Mammograms in younger women: Is the data there?

September 17, 2013 Kevin 1
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The Sunshine Act: A chilling effect on medical education?
Next Post >
Mammograms in younger women: Is the data there?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Edwin Leap, MD

  • The emergency department crisis: Why patient boarding is dangerous

    Edwin Leap, MD
  • Hospitals at a breaking point: Lack of staff and resources leave ERs in chaos

    Edwin Leap, MD
  • Trapped in a cauldron of suffering, medical staff are weary

    Edwin Leap, MD

More in Policy

  • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

    AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section
  • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

    Joshua Vasquez, MD
  • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

    Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James
  • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

    Holland Haynie, MD
  • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

    Dave Cummings, RN
  • Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

    Allen Fredrickson
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 59 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How shared language saved a patient from isolation

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The Affordable Care Act ignores simple issues of human nature
59 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...