Nearly 11 million previously uninsured Americans have gained health insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act since January 2014. The healthcare law is expected to result in 3.8 percent more primary care visits a year nationally, though increases will vary by state, according to a Commonwealth Fund report.
The Commonwealth Fund's analysis indicates the PPACA will lead to approximately 20.3 million additional primary care visits nationally. Those newly insured through marketplace exchanges are expected to account for more than one-third of these visits.
Seventeen states are expected to see increases in primary care utilization that exceed 4 percent, and only seven states are expected to see increases of more than 5 percent.
The vast majority of the county is projected to experience at most 4 percent increases in outpatient utilization care. The Commonwealth Fund anticipates slightly more varied increases in inpatient services use — including a 4 percent average increase in the West, a 3.4 percent increase in the South and 2 percent increase in the Northeast.
According to the report, increased utilization of medical and surgery specialty services is projected to be even smaller. For example, increased utilization of these services in Massachusetts is expected to be less than .5 percent and under 2 percent in New Mexico.
Increases in prescription drug use are expected to be less than 2.5 in all states except New Mexico and Oregon.