\n\n2) \u00e2\u0080\u009cCoverage\u00e2\u0080\u009d is not the same as actual medical care.
\nSupporters of the Massachusetts plan frequently claim that it is a success because 98% of the state\u00e2\u0080\u0099s residents are now \u00e2\u0080\u009ccovered.\u00e2\u0080\u009d But this is misleading, because it conflates theoretical \u00e2\u0080\u009ccoverage\u00e2\u0080\u009d with actual medical care. In fact, access to medical care has worsened for many Massachusetts residents.
\nBecause the state-mandated health insurance is so expensive, the government must subsidize the costs for lower-income residents. In response, the state government has cut payments to doctors and hospitals. With such poor reimbursements, physicians have become increasingly reluctant to see new patients.
\nThe Massachusetts Medical Society reports that 40% of family practice doctors and 56% of internal medicine physicians no longer accept new patients [4] -- \u00e2\u0080\u009cthe highest percentages of primary care practices closed to new patients \u00e2\u0080\u00a6 ever recorded.\u00e2\u0080\u009d
\nSome patients in western Massachusetts must wait more than a year for a routine physical exam [5]. Some desperate patients have even resorted to \u00e2\u0080\u009cgroup appointments, [6]\u00e2\u0080\u009d where the doctor sees several patients at once (without the privacy necessary to allow the physician to remove the patient\u00e2\u0080\u0099s clothing and perform a proper physical exam).
\nSimilarly, the average waiting time in Boston to see a specialist has increased to seven weeks [7]. In contrast, waiting times in comparable cities in other states have been decreasing and now average three weeks.
\nMassachusetts patients may have theoretical \u00e2\u0080\u009ccoverage,\u00e2\u0080\u009d but that\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not the same as actual medical care.
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via Pajamas Media \u00c2\u00bb ObamaCare: A National Version of RomneyCare \u00c2\u00bb Print.
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