Effects of "Obamacare" on Public Safety

Effects of "Obamacare" on Public Safety

By Alan Perry01/15/2014

The public is slowly coming to grips with the still evolving effects of the Patient Protection and Affordability Act affectionately known as “Obamacare”. There are many new provisions that the public, local and State governments are already working on that the general public has little or no knowledge of. It’s not because of any conspiracy or deception, it’s just that all of the reallocations of resources are for the most part still being worked out here in Virginia. One of the stated goals of the legislation is the improvement of patient outcomes and a reduction in overall healthcare cost which are incentivized without defining who specifically is responsible for the outcome, or who will receive the incentives. The legislation has prompted the emergence of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO’s) which can be a hospital(s), private organization or collaborative. This fundamental change in the delivery of healthcare will affect every healthcare provider, emergency services,  fire departments, nurses, physicians, clinics, hospital systems, insurance providers, and of course patients.

Beyond the known and much discussed facts and conjecture on Obamacare, most citizens are probably unaware of the pending effects on Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Regardless of the basis of the service as EMS, Fire, volunteer or paid all services will be forced to adapt to changes in the reimbursement  by Medicare/Medicaid and the likely necessity of providing additional services that do not involve taking the patient to the hospital. My concern is that further erosion of the core emergency services function within these public safety organizations will have a deleterious effect on the quality and availability of these resources when true emergencies occur. EMS in Virginia is already facing legislation which will reduce the required training for these positions under the guise of making EMT certification more obtainable, to what end? Our resources are already stretched too thin to even maintain quality training programs for those requiring continuing education to maintain their current certification.

I know most who read this will have little care for the plight of EMS services locally until they have to make that call for themselves or a loved one. I hope that if you have read this far you will look into what is going on with your local EMS system and voice your concerns at the State and Local level to keep it a viable and effective emergency service. Is your service using modern methods, evidence based practices and providing its staff with the best training possible? How will they sustain these practices in face of the changes facing them now?

Think about it,

Alan