In a recent blog post, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis discussed the ways the new health reform law improves the affordability of insurance for a variety of populations, including the uninsured and the underinsured and older and younger adults. In a new post, Davis explores the lesser-known provisions of the Affordable Care Act that emphasize preventive and primary care and reward health care quality. These key features will ultimately push the health care system to deliver more patient-centered, accessible, and coordinated care—improving our experiences in the doctor's office and hospital.
Under the new reforms, patients will be more likely to have:
- A physician practice that is accessible 24/7 and helps arrange specialist appointments.
- Better access to community health centers able to serve more patients.
- Electronic medical records that provide physicians, with patients' prior authorization, access to their complete medical information when needed.
- Doctors and hospitals that are rewarded for higher quality and better patient outcomes.
- Better information and support when discharged from the hospital.
- Hospitals with an incentive to reduce hospital-acquired infections.
- Information on the quality of their physicians, hospitals, and health plans.
- More choice of health insurance plans, including nonprofit plans.
- Access to private plans that are rewarded for better care.
- Reduced health insurance premiums.
