President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to repeal the ACA, and this week he and congressional Republicans began making plans to quickly begin undoing the ACA. However, the majority of U.S. physicians are pessimistic that key reform goals of improving healthcare quality, costs and access will be achieved under the new administration, according to a survey from InCrowd.
The annual microsurvey, administered in December, focuses on physician predictions for change in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
Here are five findings from the survey.
1. Seventy percent of U.S. physicians believe it is unlikely for the cost of healthcare to improve under the Trump presidency, 69 percent think it's unlikely that access to care will improve and 60 percent think it's unlikely that healthcare quality will improve.
2. However, the survey also found that 70 percent of physicians believe key ACA reforms will remain intact, specifically its guaranteed insurance coverage for people with preexisting conditions and children up to age 26 being allowed to stay on their parents' insurance plans.
3. When asked what they believe are the most critical healthcare issues for the Trump administration to address in the coming years, 54 percent said lowering drug prices and 46 percent said making therapies more affordable.
4. However, 42 percent don't expect there to be any change at all when it comes to the prices of drugs and therapies, while 22 percent of responding physicians predict drug prices will rise in the coming year.
5. Only 11 percent predicted there will be changes to industry regulations in the next year.