Paying doctor.

• Author: Suderman, Peter
• Position: Insurance, not access - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Brief article

NEED A doctor? Be prepared to wait, even if you have health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, is expected to extend health coverage to more than 30 million people during the next decade. But many patients will still have a tough time finding someone to provide care.

Much of ObamaCare's expansion of health coverage comes from Medicaid, a program for disabled and low-income individuals that is joindy financed by state and local governments. In July, the Congressional Budget Office, taking into account a Supreme Court ruling that lets states opt out of the Medicaid expansion without penalty, estimated that the program will account for 7 million newly covered individuals. But covered is not the same as treated: Sandra Decker, an economist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports in the August issue of Health Affairs that 31 percent of...