Doctor Takes Out Ad Claiming Obamacare Forced Him to Close Practice – But There's More to the Story

A Kentucky doctor announced in an ad this week that he would be closing his practice “due to the policies of Obamacare,” President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

Images of the newspaper ad were circulated Tuesday morning on social media:

Someone should follow up on this ad. Doc closes practice bc of Obamacare?--> MT @darab_ic: pic.twitter.com/sATWeC1ANc

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) December 10, 2013

Dr. Stephen Kiteck of Somerset, Ky., said he is closing his practice because of a federal regulation that would require he transition from paper to electronic records.

Kiteck said the cost of the transition would be “too much of a burden to overcome,” adding that he did not want to “make a long-term investment” in his practice, BuzzFeed reported.

The switch would also cost “thousands of man hours or woman hours to get the records on the computer,” he said.

Kiteck said he tried to get an exemption from requirement from the Department of Health and Human Services, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

But here’s the thing: The requirement that Kiteck switch from paper to electronic isn’t because of Obamacare. It's because of a regulation found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (i.e. the stimulus), the BuzzFeed report adds, citing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The regulation, which all medical professionals are required to comply with by 2014, was designed as a cost-cutting measure for doctors. However, according to The New York Times, the cost-cutting part hasn't exactly worked out as planned.

Also, it’s worth noting that Kiteck said in a recent interview that he is preparing to retire and that he and his staff are nearly “computer illiterate,” according to Opposing Views.

Kiteck said his Obamacare ad, which was placed in Kentucky's “Commonwealth Journal,” was mainly to let his patients know he plans to close his practice. The Kentucky doctor is required by law to give them at least 30 days notice.

So although it would be accurate to say the doctor is closing his office due to a regulation written under President Obama, it would be inaccurate to blame the closing on Obamacare.

The doctor’s office did not immediately respond to TheBlaze’s request for comment.

Here's a video of Kiteck explaining his ad:

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Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image screen grab.

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