The Affordable Care Act aims to incentivize physicians for becoming part of an “Accountable Care Organization,” a team of physicians and hospitals that coordinate care in a more efficient manner. This incentive will have big hospitals and healthcare networks pulling in your physician soon. Another driver behind this change will be the inability for smaller, private physicians to implement electronic medical records (EMR) systems on their own. The deadline is looming for physicians to begin demonstrating meaningful use of EMR or risk the penalty of reductions in Medicare payments starting in 2015.
http://electronicmedicalrecordsmandate.org/electronic-medical-records-mandate/emr-mandate-2014-deadline
You may benefit from increased services, and more efficient processing, but it is unlikely you will see price reductions. Even if your doctor stays in the same location, your bill may go up. Larger health networks tend to charge more for the same procedure. Partly this is due to the decrease in local competition, and partly due to the increased say in price-setting. If you haven’t gotten used to checking your healthcare bills, now is the time to start. Call your insurer to review charges when you get your bill. You may be able to find pre-negotiated “no fees” that have not been applied for certain routine visits, and save some money.
http://electronicmedicalrecordsmandate.org/electronic-medical-records-mandate/emr-mandate-2014-deadline
You may benefit from increased services, and more efficient processing, but it is unlikely you will see price reductions. Even if your doctor stays in the same location, your bill may go up. Larger health networks tend to charge more for the same procedure. Partly this is due to the decrease in local competition, and partly due to the increased say in price-setting. If you haven’t gotten used to checking your healthcare bills, now is the time to start. Call your insurer to review charges when you get your bill. You may be able to find pre-negotiated “no fees” that have not been applied for certain routine visits, and save some money.