Doctors don’t know much more than patients about Obamacare

A new survey shows that doctors have no idea what’s going on with Obamacare.

QuantiaMD, a social learning network for physicians, recently polled its members regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  As the number of enrollees has surpassed the 3 million mark, according to figures released last week, many of those patients look to their doctor as a resource regarding the ACA.

However, according to the Quantia poll, most of the docs don’t know much more than their patients.  Some of the info gathered by Quantia includes:

• 84% of physicians said they did not feel like they had enough information on the ACA to serve as a reliable resource to their patients.
• 81% of physicians don’t feel they have enough information on the ACA to understand its impact on their practice and comply with its requirements.
• When asked where they get the most reliable information about the ACA, the majority (35%) of physicians responded saying there aren’t any reliable sources of information.
• 79% said they would use an HHS-produced FAQ with their patients if such a resource were available.

“This poll proves how physicians have been left out of the health care reform process,” said Mike Paskavitz, Editor-in-Chief, Quantia, Inc. “As the patient’s most trusted point of access to the healthcare system, physicians can be a tremendous communication channel for the ACA, and this poll demonstrates that there hasn’t been much, if any, communication directed at them.

Another survey shows similar confusion regarding the health care law.  More than half of Americans (55%) still do not know the deadline to sign up for health insurance under the ACA, according to a new Bankrate.com report. In fact, about one in four Americans (24%) incorrectly think the deadline already passed on January 1.

The Bankrate survey also found that:

• 33% of Americans feel more negative about Obamacare than they did one year ago and only 12% feel more positive about it. This is the largest spread since Bankrate started conducting these monthly surveys in August 2013.
• Thirty-six percent of Americans say their health care spending is higher now than it was 12 months ago and only 7% say it is lower.