A message from our President > Richelle Marasigan, DO
Nothing is Constant but Change In medicine, as in life, change is inevitable. The way we practice medicine is always changing, and health care policy is constantly evolving as well. With these changes in practice and policy come changes in the way patients interact with these new changes as well. One example is the unanticipated recent decline in primary care physician (PCP) visits across all populations with the increased accessibility to care due in part to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The California Medical Association (CMA) physicians have always been an advocate for health care coverage for all Californians and improved access to care. In 2010, California adopted the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expanded coverage to more than 5.4 million previously uninsured Californians through the Covered California State Exchange and the Medicaid Expansion for very low-income adults. This led to a drop in rate of uninsured from 17 percent to 7 percent of the total population. During the last few years there have been a number of essential health care reforms brought about by the Affordable Care Act to help reduce financial barriers and focus on prevention and wellness. However, there are still issues that are constantly under debate including: universal coverage, instability in the individual marketplace and rising health care costs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Richelle Marasigan is the President of the San Joaquin Medical Society and is a secondgeneration physician who practices family medicine at HT Family Physicians
SPRING 2020
One particular study showed the number of primary care visits among commercially insured adults decreased 24.2% over 9 years while specialist visits remain largely unchanged. This information is of particular concern due to the fact that consistent primary care has been associated, at a population level, with lower mortality and better health care outcomes as well as less need for emergency care, lower costs of care and better patient satisfaction. There are reasons for the decline in visits including the following: More patients are seeking medical care online. In the age of telemedicine and the internet patients are technologically savvy and becoming increasingly comfortable with obtaining medical advice online via online consults and internet searches. SAN JOAQUIN PHYSICIAN
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