Despite the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing November 14 to hear challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a survey of healthcare experts found they overwhelmingly support continued implementation of the PPACA.
Some 89% of healthcare leaders said it is important for federal and state policymakers to continue moving forward to implement health care reforms, according to the Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders survey.
They supported the new law's major elements, including insurance market rules (86%), Medicaid expansion (79%), and premium tax credits (68%), the survey found.
According to published projections, between 2010 and 2020, national health spending per capita will increase 5.1% annually -- from $8,327 per person in 2010 to $13,709 per person in 2020. Nearly three-quarters of opinion leaders believe the growth in national health spending can be lowered without harming access to or quality of care.
The controversial individual insurance mandate also received strong support from survey respondents. The PPACA introduces state-based exchanges for individuals and small businesses to buy health insurance. As of November, 13 states had passed legislation to establish insurance exchanges, with several governors issuing executive orders to create one. More than two-thirds (68%) of survey respondents think it is important for states to develop and operate their own insurance exchanges.
