{"id":9482,"date":"2013-10-09T17:00:41","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T21:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poweryourpractice.com\/?p=9482"},"modified":"2013-10-09T17:00:41","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T21:00:41","slug":"how-to-talk-shop-with-patients-in-the-new-health-insurance-marketplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carecloud.com\/continuum\/how-to-talk-shop-with-patients-in-the-new-health-insurance-marketplace\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Talk Shop with Patients in the New Health Insurance Marketplace"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While the grand unveiling of the new health insurance marketplaces<\/a> has since come and gone, the confusion and skepticism surrounding the coverage kiosks and the mandate they were built for remains firmly intact. But it doesn\u2019t have to be all doom and misunderstanding forever \u2014 according to the American College of Physicians (ACP), employing information tools like its novel virtual\u00a0resource center\u00a0in doctor-patient discussions can make all the difference.<\/p>\n

Aptly named the \u201cHelp Your Patients Enroll in Health Insurance Marketplaces\u201d resource center, the informative web collective relays helpful tips for providers to employ when talking insurance enrollment<\/strong> \u2014 a discussion industry experts anticipate happening more often between patients and their doctors now that the Affordable Care Act legislation has taken a realistic hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the imminent expansion of health insurance coverage and the cascade of new rules and deadlines affecting our practices and our patients, physicians are undergoing changes unlike any in memory, ACP can provide physicians with a trusted source of information to help their patients,\u201d said ACP President Molly Cooke, MD, FACP, in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very, very important that the doctor speaks to his or her patient<\/a> about the new opportunity<\/strong> with the health insurance exchanges,\u201d Charles Cutler, MD, FACP, chair of the ACP\u2019s Board of Regents and Pennsylvania practitioner (pictured above), elaborated in an interview with\u00a0Medical Practice Insider.<\/em><\/p>\n

Both Cutler and the ACP resource center posit that a physician source is viewed as a trusted compatriot of health services who aims to do \u201cbest for [their] patients,\u201d and thus should be informed not only about what the changes ahead mean for their practice, but what those changes mean for their patients as well. (Find the top ten questions and answers concerning physicians about ACA implementation\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0within the ACP resource)<\/p>\n

So how does a physician best broach the subject of the insurance marketplaces and the opportunities they pose? It starts with dismantling fear, according to Cutler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conversation is on the tip of everybody\u2019s tongue right now given the establishment of health insurance exchanges and there\u2019s a lot of choices out there \u2014 there\u2019s some change going on and I think a lot of the change is for the better,\u201d Cutler said. \u201cBut patients need help understanding all of it. I think there\u2019s unnecessary alarm created among the American population because people don\u2019t like the Affordable Care Act and rather than really address the weaknesses in the program, the whole program has been labeled as harmful to Americans, which it\u2019s not. We just need to look at what the changes are and work through them, and pick out the right plans, and make sure that everyone has coverage and access to care.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just the fear in patients that needs undoing, but the dread within doctors themselves too. To this point, Cutler relayed his following top tips for physicians to follow when preparing to discuss insurance exchanges:<\/p>\n

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  1. Don\u2019t panic \u2014\u00a0\u201cThe greatest thing to fear is fear itself, and maybe that needs to be said. I think that\u2019s the first tip for doctors \u2014 they themselves shouldn\u2019t be frightened by the changes for their practices and they shouldn\u2019t be frightened for their patients either,\u201d Cutler said. \u201cBecause the deeper you delve into this, the more you see the incredible benefit that lies not even on the horizon, but right in front of us within the next few months and the early part of 2014.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Get Educated \u2014 \u201cWhen you have some free time, go to the ACP website and read through it \u2014 it\u2019s not that long, it\u2019s not that complicated and it\u2019s easy to navigate. You can get a sense of how to approach the conversations with patients.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Reach Out \u2014 \u201cI think once you\u2019ve sort of conquered the anxiety about this and done a little bit of education, it\u2019s worth reaching out to patients [who potentially haven\u2019t spoken up] and reassure\u00a0them that their access is going to improve, their opportunities for health insurance will be expanded, and certainly patients can go to the ACP website too and see all the resources that are available to them, to learn more and approach this in a very logical and organized fashion.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The depth of these conversations is subject to vary, Cutler continued, and while it may be difficult to squeeze such talking points into an already strapped office visit, it\u2019s imperative that physicians respond to questions and even inquire first as a means to alleviate stigma and unawareness. Cutler projected the following conversation outlines for your discussions, broken down by patient demographic:<\/p>\n