More than half of primary care physicians in Massachusetts areno longer accepting new patients, and more patients than ever arefacing lengthy wait times to see both primary care and specialtydoctors, according to a new report. Despite being the state thatwas ahead of the game on health care reform when then-Gov. MittRomney passed the universal health care law in 2006, a reportreleased by the Massachusetts Medical Society shows criticalstatistics of health care in the state are worrying doctors.

“Massachusetts has made great strides in securing insurancecoverage for its citizens,” says Dr. Alice Coombs, president of theMassachusetts Medical Society. “But insurance coverage doesn’tequal access to care. We still have much work to do to reduce waittimes and widen access.

This has important implications for health care cost control, asdifficulty or delay with routine access to care leads people toseek other options, such as the emergency room, which is much morecostly.” In fact, recent statistics from the American College ofEmergency Physicians show that more than 80 percent of ER doctorssaid emergency room visits were increasing in their departments,most reporting “significant” rises.