Affordable Care Act doesn't ensure providers are there

I am in agreement with Scott Dean (Oct. 9 letter) as far as his exposition regarding federal funding of charities goes. I am adamantly pro-life, including, but not limited to, being opposed to abortion.

That said, however, Dean is much mistaken on his assertion of the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the issue involving Planned Parenthood. (He is, sadly, in much company - including presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, who, as a physician, should know better.) The ACA does, indeed, require people to carry insurance, and does mandate what must be covered by said insurance.

What the ACA does not do - nor can do - is provide the providers. Even here in Olympia, bastion of those with the Cadillac of insurance provided to state employees, there are many people who cannot find a physician accepting new patients. People needing specialty care may have to go as far as Seattle for care because specialists in Olympia are full.

In many poor areas, both rural and urban, there is a well-documented dearth of medical providers of any kind. It doesn’t matter what insurance women have or what care that insurance covers if there are no providers available.

Those of us in the pro-life/anti-Planned Parenthood position need to take this issue seriously, not dismiss it with a mistaken appeal to the ACA as solving the problem.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Affordable Care Act doesn't ensure providers are there."