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Hospitals, doctor react to Affordable Care Act being upheld

Updated: Fri 9:16 AM, Jun 29, 2012

"Anything the government touches in regard to healthcare makes a doctor's life more complicated," said Dr. David Usher.

He likes to care to be simple and easy for the people he sees every day. He runs his own clinic in Menomonie and his patients pay $55 cash for a visit, no insurance needed.

But nationwide, he is worried that the Affordable Care Act will make it anything but simple and cost effective.

"I think the medical community has a very suspicious eye on all of this because there aren't any cost control measures that people can see or that we can see," he said.

Dr. Usher believes care is about patients and doctors. He worries what effects the bill will have on that relationship.

"We're gonna see less and less time with your doctor and more time with ancillary staff to keep the prices under control," he said.

"It may not improve the care, but it can improve the access," said Julie Ramas.

Ramas is Sacred Heart Hospital's C.E.O. She says the bill may change how hospitals handle and coordinate care.

"I think over the next five years there will be a big change in how we perceive healthcare, how we see hospitals no longer just in the hospital business, but being in the care coordination business," she said.

That, according to Mayo Clinic president and C.E.O., Dr. John Noseworthy, means keeping patients the first priority.

"We will continue to be an outspoken leading voice for a healthcare system that always puts the needs of the patients first," he said.


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