Modern Healthcare survey finds deep anger over ACA

A Modern Healthcare Internet survey conducted after this week's presidential election tapped a deep vein of anger over the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with a large group of respondents saying they had waited to see Tuesday's outcome before fully embracing the law.

Of the 829 people who responded to the survey, 67% said the reform law would have a negative impact on the bottom lines of their healthcare business. Only 33% said the law would have a positive impact.

A majority of respondents agreed that it would have been “better for your organization's bottom line” if Republican Mitt Romney had defeated President Barack Obama and raised the prospect of repealing the reform law. Nearly 57% agreed with that, while 31% disagreed and 12% were unsure.

The number of respondents who said they were waiting to embrace the law until after the election was comparable to the number who had already moved ahead with implementation: 42% said they were waiting for Tuesday's election results; 49% said they had already embraced the law; and 9% were undecided.

The survey contained two fill-in-the-blank questions whose responses reflected the widespread skepticism about the reform law.

In answering what was the single thing the Obama administration could do “to help healthcare executives benefit most from the law,” the most common answers among the 539 submitted were “resign” and “repeal it.” Many respondents also stressed the need to address the Medicare sustainable growth-rate payment formula, and improving overall clarity around the schedule for implementing the law's various goals.

“Wave his magic wand and create enough primary care physicians to manage the added population of patients,” one person wrote, reflecting another common theme about the concern over the number of front-line doctors that will be needed in coming years.

The poll was open for 24 hours, with results closing at 2 p.m. CST Thursday. It was announced by direct e-mail to readers, in an announcement on the Modern Healthcare homepage, and in daily e-newsletters and social media outlets.