Report: Increasing amount of Americans looking for doctors by insurance

With the changes in health care reform, many Americans are simply choosing their doctor based on their insurance. According to a new report from Vitals Index, an online company that helps people choose their doctors, the amount of people choosing their doctor specifically based on their insurance was four times higher in 2014 than the numbers recorded in the year prior.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) helped millions of Americans receive insurance, and gave many the choice to pick their primary health care physician for the first time. However, the data from Vitals Index showed that compared to the numbers in January 2013, the amount of people searching for service through an insurance filter grew by 1034 percent.

The amount of new shoppers for doctors has many believing there will be a large uptick in insurers through the ACA, The Fiscal Times reported.

“A stronger economy and millions of newly insured Americans mean an uptick in spending growth for healthcare organizations,” the PricewaterhouseCoopers report stated. “That may be a welcome respite from recent years of budgetary pressure.”

Mitch Rothschild, CEO of Vitals, explained that many Americans don’t like going to the doctor, but having a trusted physician who is affordable is essential in the search for a new or first-ever physician.