WHEREAS, Family physicians are trusted members of their communities, dedicated to keeping patients as healthy as possible throughout their lives; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians’ practices are a place for patients and families to turn to for care and needed advice; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians integrate the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences to provide continuing and comprehensive health care; and
WHEREAS, The care provided by family physicians covers all ages, sexes, each organ system, and every disease; and family physicians pay special attention to their patients’ lives within the context of their families and their communities; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians have the unique opportunity to affect the health
of patients over their entire lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians can provide patients with a patient-centered medical home through which they receive a full range of services within the context of a continuing relationship with their family physician and are dedicated to treating the whole person, integrating care for male and female patients of all ages within the context of the community, and advocating for the patient in an increasingly complex health care system; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians are geographically distributed across the country more equitably than other health care providers; and
WHEREAS, Family physicians are accessible to disadvantaged populations that lack access to quality health care, which in turn helps to reduce health disparities; and
WHEREAS, Individuals who regularly visit a family physician in a
patient-centered medical home are more likely to receive preventive services and better management of chronic illnesses and have a decreased chance of premature death, thereby improving health outcomes and lowering costs; and
WHEREAS, Adults in the United States who have a family physician or another type of primary care physician have 33 percent lower health care costs and 19 percent lower odds of dying than those who see only a specialist; and
WHEREAS, As a nation, we would save $67 billion each year if everyone saw a family physician or another type of primary care provider as their usual source of care; and
WHEREAS, Meeting the “Triple Aim” of better health, better care, and lower costs in our health care system means placing a new emphasis on primary care as provided by family physicians; and
WHEREAS, The majority of health insurance
regulations, the launch of Covered California, Medi-Cal eligibility expansion, and other significant provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) are effective January 1, 2014; and
WHEREAS, There is a tremendous value to ensuring that all patients have access to health insurance coverage and care, especially as our communities face a dire shortage of primary care physicians, including family physicians, a problem that will be exacerbated by the entrance of millions of newly insured into the health care market; and
WHEREAS, The implementation of the PPACA will lead to a significant demand for experienced and well-trained health care professionals who can treat a wide variety of health conditions and compassionately guide patients through our complex health care system; and
WHEREAS, Every patient and every family deserves a family physician;
now, therefore, be it