More than three-quarters — 77 percent — of California primary care and specialty physicians understand the principles of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and 59 percent support it, according to a survey conducted by physicians from the UCLA department of family medicine.
Out of the 525 California physicians surveyed, the majority believe the PPACA will guide the U.S. healthcare system in the right direction. According to the survey, 25 percent of physicians thought the PPACA would help their practice, while 36 percent thought the law would have no effect at all. Approximately 39 percent of physicians believed their practice would be hurt by the legislation.
Other key findings from the survey are shown below.
- 67 percent of primary care physicians in California strongly or somewhat agree the PPACA steers U.S. healthcare in the right direction, compared to 56 percent of specialists.
- 38 percent of generalists believe the PPACA will help their practice, compared to 20 percent of specialists.
- 29 percent of primary care physicians think the law will hurt their practice, compared to 43 percent of specialists.
- The physicians who do not endorse the PPACA are more likely to be compensated by billing only and not by salary, politically conservative and dissatisfied with the practice of medicine.
- The physicians who view the law favorably are more likely to be compensated by salary, hold liberal political opinions and be satisfied with their jobs.