Before pulling the plug on Obamacare, listen to health care providers

As President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress prepare to repeal Obamacare, they would be wise to listen to those who actually provide health care.

No one is better positioned to see how the health care system is working — and how it can be improved — than the doctors, nurses, and support staff on the front lines. Clinical professionals understand the strengths and weaknesses of the law because they’ve had to live and work within the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

So they should have a say in its fate, or at least its replacement.

I spent more than a decade studying the implementation of health care changes in the United States (the world’s most privatized health care system) and the United Kingdom (the world’s most socialized health care system). The findings were eye-opening.

When change was imposed from above, without the input and engagement of health care workers, implementation was rarely successful. Recall the fee-for-service reimbursement programs in Medicare and private insurance that incentivized more care rather than better care. Ask providers about the time wasted on the phone with insurance companies, or the mind-boggling number of clicks needed to execute a simple function in their electronic health record systems.