When the Affordable Care Act was debated and then passed, some observers questioned whether the health care system had enough providers to care for the millions of additional people who would be gaining coverage through the reform law. In particular, some worried that those who already had insurance would find their access to care reduced because of the new, increased demand for care among the newly insured.
Those fears appear to have been groundless.
In a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, researchers concluded that
…we found no consistent evidence that increases in the proportion of adults with insurance at the local-area level affected access to care for adults residing in the same area who already had, and continued to have, insurance.
This finding even applies to people who live in health care professional shortage areas and those covered by Medicaid.
Learn more by going here to see the study “Growing Insurance Coverage Did Not Reduce Access To Care For The Continuously Insured.”