Some high-ranking physicians are starting to approve of Obamacare, but not by much, according to a new poll.
About 55 percent of nearly 2,400 physician leaders surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the law had “more good than bad” in it.
The survey released Monday was conducted by the American Association for Physician Leadership and the consulting firm Navigant. The group surveyed included high-ranking officials such as chief medical officers and senior-level executives from a range of organizations and practices.
As these executives start to understand the details of Obamacare, they may see it as less than the radical set of changes they originally believed, said Paul Keckley, managing director at Navigant.
The executives also seemed to be in favor of a new push to radically alter how physicians are paid.
Currently, Medicare and Medicaid pay physicians through a fee-for-service program that is a flat rate based on the service provided. Obamacare seeks to change payments to include metrics that measure the value of the care provided.
For instance, a metric could be hospital re-admissions of a patient.
The survey found 63 percent disagreed that the elimination of fee-for-service will harm the quality of care for patients.
Physician reaction to the law has been pretty dismal so far. A survey in the fall from the nonprofit Physicians Foundation reported that 46 percent gave Obamacare a D or F and only 25 percent an A or B.
The foundation reported that the survey was performed over email and it received more than 20,000 responses.
