CNOR, director of perioperative and obstet-
rical services at the University of Colorado
Hospital. "Our uncompensated care is a
huge dollar amount. Reducing those num-
bers, even though payment may or may not
cover our direct costs, is still better than
where we were before."
And for every yin, there seems to be a
yang.
"Our business is down by 40%," says a
facility chief at a Pittsburgh ASC. "Increased
deductibles and co-payments for commer-
cial insurance plans have [hurt] our overall
business. I find it hard to believe there is
anything 'affordable' about it."
Not a fan
Doctors appear to be slightly more hostile
to the law than facility managers, with 50%
of our physician-respondents favoring out-
right repeal. The reasons echo many of the
concerns expressed by opponents through the years.
"There's a lot more paperwork," says Dell Smith, MD, a surgeon in
Twin Falls, Idaho. "It's taken up all of my previously free time. There's
no time left for my family or for relaxation."
In all, 72% of the doctors we polled say they're dealing with either
"more" paperwork or "a lot more" paperwork since the law went
into effect. "We're focusing on ways to make us look good on paper
and please the government," says an anesthesiologist in Hawaii.
"We're forgetting the patient. I have to take care of the patient and
watch the computer at the same time."
That frustration has led some to the brink of throwing in the towel.
4 9
M A R C H 2 0 1 5 | O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
"Obamacare had noth-
ing to do with Obama
or care. The insurance
industry merely wanted
more customers. They
wrote the bill and their
puppets in Congress
signed it."
— Robert Kotler, MD
