By its very nature, the Affordable Care Act will increase demand for doctors. An estimated 30,000 Yakima Valley residents who don’t have insurance will receive coverage once the act fully goes into effect, and it’s safe to assume that many will take advantage of newly available services.
The influx of patients will heavily affect primary care, and in most ways this is a positive trend. Patients who are worried about cost frequently avoid regular checkups that may flag an emerging medical condition; those patients then head to a hospital emergency room when their health deteriorates. Having more patients in primary care should improve patients’ health and reduce the load on costly emergency room care…
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