Report: ACA may cause 'modest' rise in demand for services

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) might not lead to sharp increases in demand for physician and hospital services. In a report released earlier this month, Commonwealth Fund researchers predicted that primary care providers will see, on average, 1.3 additional office visits per week, accounting for a 3.8% increase in visits nationally. Hospital outpatient departments will see 1.2 to 11 additional visits per week on average, or an increase of about 2.6% nationally. Use by inpatients will also increase, with a 4% increase predicted in the West, 3.4% in the South and 2% in the Northeast, according to the report. “Increases of the magnitude likely to be generated by the [ACA] will have modest effects on the demand for health services, and the existing supply of providers should be sufficient to accommodate this increased demand,” the report states.