ACA And Its Impact On Patient Care

Posted by mgsionline on August 28th, 2014

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called as Obamacare has created revolutionary changes in the healthcare industry. After it came into effect on March 23, 2010, this act introduced various reforms that offered immense benefits to all American citizens. A few benefits are providing high-quality, affordable healthcare to all Americans and offering consumers with numerous choices of health benefit plans through Health Insurance Exchange Marketplaces. Although ACA had a positive impact on patient care, it impacted negatively on Providers and Healthcare Facilities. Physician billing services got greatly affected while Providers focused on implementing the new changes brought out by the ACA. In order to keep their practices in good shape, most Providers choose outsource medical billing, which is highly recommended in the present situation. Now, let us delve into more details about ACA and its positive impact on patient care:

Some of the Good Features of ACA:

· Young adults who are aged 26 and below can have health insurance covered under their parents’ health insurance plan.

· Children aged 19 and less will no more face limitations to their healthcare benefits due to a pre-existing illness.

· Patients have the option of filing an appeal if the payment for a clinical service or treatment is denied.

· During emergency situations, people can seek the help of out-of-network Providers without prior consent or pre-authorization of insurance payers.

Impact on Patient Care:

· Private Practice to Medical Groups: As individual Providers faced great challenges in tackling medical billing and collections while implementing new reforms, they started forming medical groups. This transformation has highly benefited patients as they can use a wide variety of specialty services under one roof. By forming medical groups, Providers are able to pool their resources efficiently while staying focused on patient care. This way, they earn good Medicare and Medicaid incentives. For better medical claims management, these medical groups can choose to outsource medical billing.

· Digitization of Health Records: The HITECH act, a part of ACA had made the digitization of patient health records mandatory. It also stated that Providers and Healthcare Facilities will be eligible for incentives if they adopt electronic health records into their practices and demonstrate meaningful use, under federally established guidelines. This technological advancement has enhanced the trust of patients as their medical records would be safe and will not get lost. It also offers a broad spectrum of privacy protection to patients’ health records.

· Payment Collection Method: ACA has brought in a new payment collection method which allows Providers and Healthcare Facilities to distinguish between patients who are unable to pay their medical bills and those who are unwilling to pay their medical bills. This new system incorporates electronic billing which is highly efficient in collecting patient balances.

About MGSI:
In order to keep your practices running smoothly without any impact from the ACA changes, outsourcing medical billing will be the right option. Seek help from MGSI, one of the reputed medical claims management companies in the US. With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare space, MGSI –a Florida based, national billing service - has been providing exceptional physician billing services to its clients. To learn more details, log on to www.mgsionline.com/.