Since its introduction, the Affordable Care Act has ignited a firestorm of controversy. While almost all Americans agree that action was necessary to help stem the prolific rise of health care costs, not all were convinced the Affordable Care Act would successfully meet this goal. However, there seems to be increasing support of the measure during this second enrollment period currently underway.
Dr. Kenneth Davis, CEO of New York's Mount Sinai Health System, has spoken out in support of the legislation, and its current achievements and future potential.
"We've improved access," Dr. Davis told CNBC News. "There are more patients than there were ever before. We have fewer hospital re-admissions, and we have few hospital-acquired infections."
Dr. Davis explained that the Affordable Care Act has led to significant gains in both the quality and access to health care in the country. As head of one of the nation's largest health care systems, he offers exclusive insight into many of the most pressing challenges the health care industry is currently facing. However, he does admit that there is a long way still to go.
"Bending the cost curve in health care has got to be the focus of everybody's attention—all the policymakers," he explained.
Dr. Davis says the next steps are to address rapidly inflating end-of-life Medicare costs, and to address the rise in diseases brought on by obesity.
Of course, it will take significant time for any efforts aimed at addressing these issues to have real effect. Until then, care facilities could continue to experience challenges with accounts receivable management as patients continue to be underprepared for rising costs. Accounts receivable outsourcing can help reduce the number of dollars written off to bad debt.
