Affordable Care Act Ruled Constitutional; AAFP Prepared to Implement ACA, Address its Shortcomings
POSTED ON: Jul 03, 2012
By: ncafpweb

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a divisive issue not only for the country but also among AAFP members. Clearly, it is far from perfect legislation. But now that the Supreme Court finally has issued its long-awaited ruling, the AAFP will move forward to advocate for much-needed health system reforms. According to AAFP President Dr. Glen Stream, the Academy will continue to work to implement the best pieces of the ACA, advocate for change in provisions of the law that are flawed and address the law's two key deficiencies -- meaningful medical liability reform and a replacement for the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. For primary care physicians, the court's decision preserved provisions of the ACA that will create Medicare primary care payment incentives and boost Medicaid payments for primary care services to Medicare levels. Plus, ACA also contains a number of workforce investments, including investments in primary care education and training by funding for teaching health centers; scholarship and loan repayment programs in the National Health Service Corps; support for the health professions grants for family medicine; and establishment of the Health Care Workforce Commission.

