Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/417381
62 Clinical Integration & ACOs In a sampling of health centers and large physician groups in several states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania, most providers said they were well-prepared for any large influx of patients, and few are reporting delays for patients wishing to receive care. 11. However, some Americans are living in areas already short of primary care physicians. While the PPACA may have increased insurance coverage for many, nearly 20 percent of Americans live in an area where there are too few primary care physicians to serve the community. Nearly half — 44 percent — of rural areas in the United States are experiencing a shortage of primary care practitioners. Federal guidelines recommend maximum popu- lation to physician ratios of 3,500 –to-one for primary care providers. States with between 25 and 29 percent of their populations living in an area with a primary care shortage include: Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota. In Alabama, Missouri and Wy- oming, 30 percent or more of the population lives in an area of primary care shortage. New Mexico has more than 40 percent of its population with poor access to primary care, and more than 50 percent of people in both Louisiana and Mississippi don't have enough access to primary care physicians. 12. The new insurance exchange coupled with local physician shortages has presented a whole new set of challenges for hospitals. Local shortages of physicians make caring for the influx of newly insured patients very dif- ficult. Furthermore, many providers are still anticipating a rush of new pa- tients coming soon, as the newly insured become more familiar with benefits and what the system has to offer. Most executives feel they have not felt the