Health Care - Battle for Primary Care: Emerging Changes in the Primary Care Delivery Environment

February 20, 2014

In this issue:

Battle for Primary Care: Emerging Changes in the Primary Care Delivery Environment

Primary care--the gateway to the entire health care delivery network&mdashis undergoing radical change as new primary care arrangements may challenge the historical supremacy of hospital or physician owned primary care practices and urgent care clinics.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created 5 categories of health insurance plans options for consumers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, plus a high deductible "catastrophic" plan option for emergency, safety net-type coverage for large, unforeseen health care expenses for individuals under the age of 30 or with low incomes. The expansion of Medicaid coverage in Michigan adds to the strain on the existing system in terms of access. With tens of millions of formerly uninsured individuals looking for primary care providers, there is a "gloves off, bare knuckles" fight between industry giants to re-define and claim the new primary care delivery environment. The twin drivers of easy access and controlling out-of-pocket spending may be expected to fuel consumer demand for new low cost, easy access primary care providers.

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