Could? How about, almost definitely.  Even before legislation passed, many Americans were unable to obtain a timely appointment due a shortage of primary care physicians in their local communities.  An estimated 60 million Americans, or one in five,  were reported to lack adequate access to primary care. This results in patients increasingly turning to costly emergency room visits to obtain the routine care they should be receiving from their primary care provider, and reduced availability to emergency services for those who need it most. Since proposing legislation that would expand access to our nation's uninsured, many experts have warned that the need for primary care will also grow dramatically once an individual mandate to carry health coverage is implemented. Even without the mandate, our increasing aging population and spiraling levels of chronic condition prevalence will further stress the current primary care shortage and potentially threaten the long-term fiscal sustainability of our national health care system.

But don't take my word for it, check out what the Shots blog, from National Public Radio has to say.