Affordable Care Act Sets Nation on Right Course, Experts Say
In the latest Commonwealth Fund/<em>Modern Healthcare </em>Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey, more than nine of 10 respondents agreed that the Affordable Care Act sets the right course for health reform. And despite wide differences of opinion in Congress, and varied levels of support among the general public, nearly seven of 10 (68%) of the experts surveyed favor implementing the law with little or no change. <br /><br />The survey's findings are discussed in a Commonwealth Fund <a href="/publications/publication/2011/feb/health-care-opinion-leaders-views-congressional-priorities">data brief</a> published today. <br /><br />In asking leaders in health care and health care policy about what they felt should be the priorities for the 112th Congress, the survey found scant opposition to the reform law: only 9 percent believe the law sets the wrong course for the nation, and none thought the health system as it stands now requires no major changes. In fact, respondents voiced strong support for moving forward with all the major provisions of the law. More than eight of 10 think it is important or very important to implement state-based health insurance exchanges, the requirement that individuals purchase insurance coverage, and the expansion of Medicaid to cover more lower-income individuals. <br /><br />"While health reform very much remains a work in progress, it is heartening to see broad support among health care leaders for the direction laid out in the Affordable Care Act," said Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis. <br /><br />You can also read commentaries on the survey findings by <a href="/blog/2011/health-reform-what-congress-can-do-help">David M. Cutler</a>, the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, and <a href="/blog/2011/congressional-priorities-reading-tea-leaves-2011-and-beyond">Gail Wilensky</a>, senior fellow at Project HOPE. <br />
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2011/feb/affordable-care-act-sets-nation-on-right-course